Times of Better Bharat

India, measured — every morning · est. 2026

Forest cover

Forest as a share of land area. India is one of the few large economies where the figure has held or risen rather than fallen — though what counts as forest in the official return, including plantations, is contested by ecologists.

Latest
24.54
2023
Published by
World Bank / FAO
annual

Forest cover over time

21.0%22.0%23.0%24.0%25.0%199019962002200820142020202324.5%
1990–2023 · 34 observations · % of land area
View as table
PeriodForest cover
202324.5%
202224.4%
202124.4%
202024.3%
201924.2%
201824.1%
201724.0%
201623.9%
201523.8%
201423.7%
201323.6%
201223.6%
201123.5%
201023.4%
200923.3%
200823.2%
200723.2%
200623.1%
200523.1%
200423.0%
200322.9%
200222.9%
200122.8%
200022.7%
199922.6%
199822.5%
199722.4%
199622.2%
199522.1%
199422.0%
199321.9%
199221.8%
199121.6%
199021.5%

Compared with

Japan
68.4%
Brazil
59.0%
Indonesia
47.7%
Vietnam
47.4%
Nepal
41.6%
Sri Lanka
34.0%
United States
33.9%
Germany
32.7%
India
24.5%
China
24.0%
Bangladesh
14.5%
South Africa
14.0%
Pakistan
4.7%
Latest available year for each country · % of land area

Source

World Bank / FAO — https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/AG.LND.FRST.ZS