Data for 1998

Forest Area, 1998

Name: Forest Area, 1998
Creator: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
License: https://www.fao.org/contact-us/terms/db-terms-of-use/en/

1998, as FAO’s 2026 release gives it · stored as published, never rewritten

Forest Area, 1998 covers 205 countries. Suriname is highest, at 95.623; 4 countries share the lowest reading, 0.000. The middle country reads 31.988. Against 1997, 168 values changed (69 up, 99 down), the same countries are covered.

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Forest Area · Data for 1998

HighestSuriname

95.623

Lowest4 countries share it

0.000

Shaded by value in five groups of equal size, darkest at the highest end.

205countries
1measure
1998the year it describes
202distinct values18 decimals, as published
Sep 6, 2026read from the publisher
CC BY 4.0licence

01Position · derived

The table

Every country and every column of Forest Area, 1998, as published. FAO ranks nobody on this measure; the position is derived here by ordering the published values. “=” marks a shared position.

Search this table

Showing 25 of 205 countries · select a heading to sort

Forest Area, 1998: every country, as published by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
derived
1	Suriname`SUR`South America	95.623
2	Guyana`GUY`South America	94.345
3	Equatorial Guinea`GNQ`Middle Africa	93.843
4	Gabon`GAB`Middle Africa	92.026
5	Micronesia`FSM`Micronesia	91.149
6	Solomon Islands`SLB`Melanesia	90.713
7	American Samoa`ASM`Polynesia	88.990
8	Liberia`LBR`Western Africa	85.996
9	Palau`PLW`Micronesia	85.422
10	Papua New Guinea`PNG`Melanesia	80.162
11	Guinea-Bissau`GNB`Western Africa	77.019
12	Brunei`BRN`South-eastern Asia	75.939
13	Laos`LAO`South-eastern Asia	75.860
14	Finland`FIN`Northern Europe	73.317
15	Seychelles`SYC`Eastern Africa	73.261
16	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines`VCT`Caribbean	72.667
17	Northern Mariana Islands`MNP`Micronesia	70.196
18	Sweden`SWE`Northern Europe	69.090
19	Japan`JPN`Eastern Asia	68.288
20	South Korea`KOR`Eastern Asia	67.292
21	Brazil`BRA`South America	66.839
22	Belize`BLZ`Central America	65.210
23	Republic of the Congo`COG`Middle Africa	65.063
24	Bhutan`BTN`Southern Asia	64.978
25	Dominica`DMA`Caribbean	64.477
26	DR Congo`COD`Middle Africa	64.068
27	Timor-Leste`TLS`South-eastern Asia	64.015
28	Zambia`ZMB`Eastern Africa	63.393
29	Angola`AGO`Middle Africa	62.581
30	Tanzania`TZA`Eastern Africa	61.429
31	Cambodia`KHM`South-eastern Asia	61.329
32	Honduras`HND`Central America	60.954
33	Samoa`WSM`Polynesia	60.874
34	São Tomé and Príncipe`STP`Middle Africa	60.846
35	United States Virgin Islands`VIR`Caribbean	60.811
36	Slovenia`SVN`Southern Europe	60.775
37	Malaysia`MYS`South-eastern Asia	60.498
38	Panama`PAN`Central America	60.199
39	Paraguay`PRY`South America	59.156
40	Peru`PER`South America	59.006
41	Indonesia`IDN`South-eastern Asia	57.813
42	Colombia`COL`South America	56.945
43	Venezuela`VEN`South America	56.375
44	Costa Rica`CRI`Central America	56.155
45	Ecuador`ECU`South America	56.011
46	Myanmar`MMR`South-eastern Asia	54.684
47	North Korea`PRK`Eastern Asia	54.366
48	Fiji`FJI`Melanesia	54.358
49	Cayman Islands`CYM`Caribbean	54.042
50	Mozambique`MOZ`Eastern Africa	52.934
51	Estonia`EST`Northern Europe	52.661
52	Marshall Islands`MHL`Micronesia	52.222
53	Grenada`GRD`Caribbean	52.059
54	Latvia`LVA`Northern Europe	51.865
55	Bolivia`BOL`South America	51.363
56	Bahamas`BHS`Caribbean	50.935
57	Russia`RUS`Eastern Europe	49.398
58	Jamaica`JAM`Caribbean	48.112
59	Zimbabwe`ZWE`Eastern Africa	47.714
60	Nicaragua`NIC`Central America	46.529
61	Senegal`SEN`Western Africa	46.451
62	Austria`AUT`Western Europe	46.360
63	Trinidad and Tobago`TTO`Caribbean	46.342
64	Cameroon`CMR`Middle Africa	46.071
65	Puerto Rico`PRI`Caribbean	45.929
66	New Caledonia`NCL`Melanesia	45.761
67	Guam`GUM`Micronesia	44.444
68	Saint Kitts and Nevis`KNA`Caribbean	42.308
69	Bosnia and Herzegovina`BIH`Southern Europe	41.627
70	Liechtenstein`LIE`Western Europe	41.625
71	Sierra Leone`SLE`Western Africa	41.132
72	French Polynesia`PYF`Polynesia	40.362
73	Guatemala`GTM`Central America	40.347
74	Belarus`BLR`Eastern Europe	40.302
75	Nepal`NPL`Southern Asia	40.273
76	Ghana`GHA`Western Africa	39.834
77	Georgia`GEO`Western Asia	39.703
78	Slovakia`SVK`Eastern Europe	39.535
79	Dominican Republic`DOM`Caribbean	39.266
80	Canada`CAN`Northern America	38.803
81	Benin`BEN`Western Africa	37.914
82	Thailand`THA`South-eastern Asia	37.328
83	North Macedonia`MKD`Southern Europe	37.296
84	New Zealand`NZL`Australia and New Zealand	37.047
85	Central African Republic`CAF`Middle Africa	36.860
86	Gambia`GMB`Western Africa	36.442
87	Vanuatu`VUT`Melanesia	36.284
88	Portugal`PRT`Southern Europe	36.116
89	Mexico`MEX`Central America	35.404
90	Sri Lanka`LKA`Southern Asia	35.133
91	Vietnam`VNM`South-eastern Asia	34.724
92	Saint Lucia`LCA`Caribbean	34.528
93	Czechia`CZE`Eastern Europe	34.110
94	Andorra`AND`Southern Europe	34.043
95	Croatia`HRV`Southern Europe	33.590
96	Malawi`MWI`Eastern Africa	33.578
97	Tuvalu`TUV`Polynesia	33.333
98	Norway`NOR`Northern Europe	33.175
99	United States`USA`Northern America	33.117
100	El Salvador`SLV`Central America	32.958
101	Spain`ESP`Southern Europe	32.949
102	Germany`DEU`Western Europe	32.500
103	Lithuania`LTU`Northern Europe	31.988
104	Botswana`BWA`Southern Africa	31.509
105	Bulgaria`BGR`Eastern Europe	30.420
106	Switzerland`CHE`Western Europe	30.047
107	Poland`POL`Eastern Europe	29.461
108	Guinea`GIN`Western Africa	28.481
109	Albania`ALB`Southern Europe	28.219
110	France`FRA`Western Europe	28.050
111	Italy`ITA`Southern Europe	27.926
112	Romania`ROU`Eastern Europe	27.732
113	Nigeria`NGA`Western Africa	27.690
114	Greece`GRC`Southern Europe	27.462
115	Eswatini`SWZ`Southern Africa	27.375
116	Burkina Faso`BFA`Western Africa	26.742
117	Türkiye`TUR`Western Asia	26.084
118	Philippines`PHL`South-eastern Asia	24.829
119	Singapore`SGP`South-eastern Asia	24.741
120	British Virgin Islands`VGB`Caribbean	24.520
121	Togo`TGO`Western Africa	23.664
122	Comoros`COM`Eastern Africa	22.867
123	Madagascar`MDG`Eastern Africa	22.635
124	India`IND`Southern Asia	22.488
125	Cuba`CUB`Caribbean	21.970
126	Antigua and Barbuda`ATG`Caribbean	21.777
127	Hungary`HUN`Eastern Europe	21.155
128	Chile`CHL`South America	21.119
129	Mauritius`MUS`Eastern Africa	20.570
130	Ethiopia`ETH`Eastern Africa	18.675
131	Bermuda`BMU`Northern America	18.519
132	China`CHN`Eastern Asia	18.430
133	Cyprus`CYP`Western Asia	18.345
134	Côte d’Ivoire`CIV`Western Africa	17.754
135	Australia`AUS`Australia and New Zealand	17.212
136	San Marino`SMR`Southern Europe	16.667
137	Ukraine`UKR`Eastern Europe	16.333
138	Uganda`UGA`Eastern Africa	16.243
139	Bangladesh`BGD`Southern Asia	14.752
140	South Africa`ZAF`Southern Africa	14.715
141	Barbados`BRB`Caribbean	14.651
142	Denmark`DNK`Northern Europe	14.089
143	Haiti`HTI`Caribbean	13.828
144	Lebanon`LBN`Western Asia	13.537
145	Tonga`TON`Polynesia	12.431
146	Argentina`ARG`South America	12.330
147	Morocco`MAR`Northern Africa	12.329
148	Somalia`SOM`Eastern Africa	12.224
149	United Kingdom`GBR`Northern Europe	12.065
150	Rwanda`RWA`Eastern Africa	11.877
151	Azerbaijan`AZE`Western Asia	11.779
152	Armenia`ARM`Western Asia	11.699
153	Eritrea`ERI`Eastern Africa	11.136
154	Turks and Caicos Islands`TCA`Caribbean	11.074
155	Mali`MLI`Western Africa	10.897
156	Netherlands`NLD`Western Europe	10.565
157	Moldova`MDA`Eastern Europe	10.349
158	Namibia`NAM`Southern Africa	9.961
159	Mongolia`MNG`Eastern Asia	9.229
160	Turkmenistan`TKM`Central Asia	8.782
161	Ireland`IRL`Northern Europe	8.660
162	Cabo Verde`CPV`Western Africa	8.648
163	Burundi`BDI`Eastern Africa	8.195
164	Uruguay`URY`South America	7.169
165	Kenya`KEN`Eastern Africa	6.924
166	Israel`ISR`Western Asia	6.876
167	Uzbekistan`UZB`Central Asia	6.768
168	Kyrgyzstan`KGZ`Central Asia	6.111
169	Isle of Man`IMN`Northern Europe	6.070
170	Pakistan`PAK`Southern Asia	5.975
171	Iran`IRN`Southern Asia	5.695
172	Chad`TCD`Middle Africa	5.105
173	Tunisia`TUN`Northern Africa	4.268
174	Channel Islands`CHI`Northern Europe	4.192
175	United Arab Emirates`ARE`Western Asia	4.175
176	Tajikistan`TJK`Central Asia	2.927
177	Maldives`MDV`Southern Asia	2.733
178	Aruba`ABW`Caribbean	2.333
179	Syria`SYR`Western Asia	2.286
180	Iraq`IRQ`Western Asia	1.864
181	Afghanistan`AFG`Southern Asia	1.853
182	Palestine`PSE`Western Asia	1.508
183	Kiribati`KIR`Micronesia	1.457
184	Kazakhstan`KAZ`Central Asia	1.170
185	Niger`NER`Western Africa	1.146
186	Lesotho`LSO`Southern Africa	1.137
187	Jordan`JOR`Western Asia	1.105
188	Malta`MLT`Southern Europe	1.094
189	Yemen`YEM`Western Asia	1.040
190	Algeria`DZA`Northern Africa	0.670
191	Bahrain`BHR`Western Asia	0.479
192	Saudi Arabia`SAU`Western Asia	0.454
193	Mauritania`MRT`Western Africa	0.420
194	Iceland`ISL`Northern Europe	0.272
195	Kuwait`KWT`Western Asia	0.256
196	Djibouti`DJI`Eastern Africa	0.242
197	Libya`LBY`Northern Africa	0.123
198	Faroe Islands`FRO`Northern Europe	0.057
199	Egypt`EGY`Northern Africa	0.056
200	Oman`OMN`Western Asia	0.010
201	Greenland`GRL`Northern America	0.001
=202	Gibraltar`GIB`Southern Europe	0.000
=202	Monaco`MCO`Western Europe	0.000
=202	Nauru`NRU`Micronesia	0.000
=202	Qatar`QAT`Western Asia	0.000

02In 1998

At either end

The 5 countries at each end of the headline.

Highest

1Suriname95.623
2Guyana94.345
3Equatorial Guinea93.843
4Gabon92.026
5Micronesia91.149

Lowest

202Qatarshared0.000
202Naurushared0.000
202Monacoshared0.000
202Gibraltarshared0.000
201Greenland0.001

Neither end is better. The values describe a shape, not a score. The middle country reads 31.988. “Shared” marks a value another country also holds.

031997 → 1998

Since 1997

What changed between 1997 and this one: who joined or left, and how far the headline moved.

+0 / −0countries joined / left
168values changed, of 205 in both
69 · 99rose · fell
37unchanged

Rose most

Ecuador50.574 → 56.011+5.436
Puerto Rico44.702 → 45.929+1.227
Dominican Republic38.485 → 39.266+0.782
Vietnam33.985 → 34.724+0.740
Spain32.310 → 32.949+0.639

Fell most

United States Virgin Islands61.974 → 60.811−1.163
Indonesia58.766 → 57.813−0.953
Côte d’Ivoire18.621 → 17.754−0.867
Nicaragua47.360 → 46.529−0.831
Myanmar55.350 → 54.684−0.666

Both years come from the same release, so a difference here is a change in the data, not a revision of it. Every country’s full history is charted on the statistic page.

04Caveats

Read before you use

What this edition’s numbers are and are not, worked out from the file itself.

How values are stored

One year of the 2026 release
Every year in this series comes from FAO’s 2026 release, recalculated on one method. It can differ from what was first published for 1998.
202 distinct values among 205
Values are stored exactly as published, to 18 decimals. 4 countries share 0.000. Countries sharing a value share a position too.
The position is ours
FAO publishes values only; the order is this site’s.
Nothing missing
Every one of the 205 countries has every column.

05The files

Download and cite

The table as a file, digit for digit, what this site changed, and a citation for this edition.

Licence in full

.csv
For a spreadsheet or code
205 rows · 7.7 KB · UTF-8, opens in Excel
Opens with 11 lines of source notes; the table starts on row 13.
Download forest-area-1998-nations-inquiry.csv
↗
The publisher’s original
FAO’s own file, on its own site.
AG.LND.FRST.ZS

What this site changed: Reshaped into one row per country: regional and income-group totals are left out, only the columns listed are kept, each row gets its ISO 3166 code, and some country names are brought to one spelling. No value is recalculated, rescaled or rounded.

Licence: CC BY 4.0 · what it allows, in plain words

Cite this edition

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) (1998). Forest Area, 1998 [data set], describing 1998. As held by Nations Inquiry, https://nationsinquiry.com/datasets/forest-area/1998

0634 held

Other years

‹ The year before
Forest Area, 1997
205 countries
The year after ›
Forest Area, 1999
205 countries
All of them
Forest Area: every year
34 held, with the data dictionary, coverage and licence.
How it has moved, charted by country

07Questions

Forest Area, 1998: questions and answers

Which country has the highest forest area in Forest Area, 1998?

Suriname, at 95.623, of the 205 countries in the file.

What year does Forest Area, 1998 describe?

1998.

How many countries does Forest Area, 1998 cover?

205.

Where can I download Forest Area, 1998?

On this page, as a CSV file holding every value exactly as published, or from the publisher’s own site, linked below.

Is Forest Area, 1998 the newest?

No. The newest held here is Forest Area, 2023.

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