According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)’s Global Forest Resources Assessment (GFRA) 2025, forests cover over 4.1 billion hectares of the Earth’s land surface, which is roughly 32%. The following is a list of the top 10 countries with the largest forest areas. Let’s read.
Top 10 most forested countries in the world
| Rank | Country | Forest area (million ha) | Forest area percentage of world forest area |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Russian Federation | 832.63 | ~20% |
| 2 | Brazil | 486.09 | ~12% |
| 3 | Canada | 368.82 | ~9% |
| 4 | United States of America | 308.9 | ~7% |
| 5 | China | 227.15 | ~5% |
| 6 | Democratic Republic of the Congo | 139.19 | ~3% |
| 7 | Australia | 133.56 | ~3% |
| 8 | Indonesia | 95.97 | ~2% |
| 9 | India | 72.74 | ~2% |
| 10 | Peru | 67.16 | ~2% |
Source: FAO, Global Forest Resources Assessment 2025 (CC BY 4.0)
Russia has the largest forest area in the world, covering approximately 832.63 million hectares, followed by Brazil and Canada. It accounts for around 20% of the global forest area.
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