Data for 1997

Forest Area, 1997

1997, as FAO’s 2026 release gives it · stored as published, never rewritten

Forest Area, 1997 covers 205 countries. Suriname is highest, at 95.646; 4 countries share the lowest reading, 0.000. The middle country reads 31.868. Against 1996, 169 values changed (68 up, 101 down), the same countries are covered.

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Forest Area · Data for 1997

HighestSuriname

95.646

Lowest4 countries share it

0.000

Shaded by value in five groups of equal size, darkest at the highest end. Neither end is better. The values describe a shape, not a score.

205countries
1measure
1997the 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, 1997, 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, 1997: every country, as published by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
derived
1	SurinameSURSouth America	95.646
2	GuyanaGUYSouth America	94.364
3	Equatorial GuineaGNQMiddle Africa	94.141
4	GabonGABMiddle Africa	92.050
5	MicronesiaFSMMicronesia	91.109
6	Solomon IslandsSLBMelanesia	90.739
7	American SamoaASMPolynesia	89.160
8	LiberiaLBRWestern Africa	86.310
9	PalauPLWMicronesia	85.111
10	Papua New GuineaPNGMelanesia	80.189
11	Guinea-BissauGNBWestern Africa	77.319
12	BruneiBRNSouth-eastern Asia	76.243
13	LaosLAOSouth-eastern Asia	76.042
14	SeychellesSYCEastern Africa	73.261
15	FinlandFINNorthern Europe	73.130
16	Saint Vincent and the GrenadinesVCTCaribbean	72.410
17	Northern Mariana IslandsMNPMicronesia	70.554
18	SwedenSWENorthern Europe	69.065
19	JapanJPNEastern Asia	68.308
20	South KoreaKOREastern Asia	67.370
21	BrazilBRASouth America	67.291
22	BelizeBLZCentral America	65.827
23	Republic of the CongoCOGMiddle Africa	65.098
24	DominicaDMACaribbean	64.803
25	BhutanBTNSouthern Asia	64.729
26	DR CongoCODMiddle Africa	64.365
27	Timor-LesteTLSSouth-eastern Asia	64.109
28	ZambiaZMBEastern Africa	63.441
29	AngolaAGOMiddle Africa	62.705
30	United States Virgin IslandsVIRCaribbean	61.974
31	TanzaniaTZAEastern Africa	61.849
32	CambodiaKHMSouth-eastern Asia	61.456
33	HondurasHNDCentral America	61.142
34	SamoaWSMPolynesia	61.045
35	São Tomé and PríncipeSTPMiddle Africa	60.873
36	MalaysiaMYSSouth-eastern Asia	60.781
37	SloveniaSVNSouthern Europe	60.551
38	PanamaPANCentral America	60.421
39	ParaguayPRYSouth America	59.798
40	PeruPERSouth America	59.096
41	IndonesiaIDNSouth-eastern Asia	58.766
42	ColombiaCOLSouth America	57.145
43	VenezuelaVENSouth America	56.701
44	Costa RicaCRICentral America	56.253
45	MyanmarMMRSouth-eastern Asia	55.350
46	North KoreaPRKEastern Asia	54.745
47	Cayman IslandsCYMCaribbean	54.125
48	FijiFJIMelanesia	53.992
49	MozambiqueMOZEastern Africa	53.212
50	EstoniaESTNorthern Europe	52.583
51	Marshall IslandsMHLMicronesia	52.222
52	GrenadaGRDCaribbean	52.059
53	LatviaLVANorthern Europe	51.756
54	BoliviaBOLSouth America	51.613
55	BahamasBHSCaribbean	50.935
56	EcuadorECUSouth America	50.574
57	RussiaRUSEastern Europe	49.404
58	JamaicaJAMCaribbean	48.115
59	ZimbabweZWEEastern Africa	47.833
60	NicaraguaNICCentral America	47.360
61	SenegalSENWestern Africa	46.684
62	Trinidad and TobagoTTOCaribbean	46.447
63	AustriaAUTWestern Europe	46.285
64	CameroonCMRMiddle Africa	46.261
65	New CaledoniaNCLMelanesia	45.724
66	Puerto RicoPRICaribbean	44.702
67	GuamGUMMicronesia	44.444
68	Saint Kitts and NevisKNACaribbean	42.308
69	Bosnia and HerzegovinaBIHSouthern Europe	41.819
70	LiechtensteinLIEWestern Europe	41.500
71	Sierra LeoneSLEWestern Africa	41.405
72	GuatemalaGTMCentral America	40.881
73	GhanaGHAWestern Africa	40.306
74	French PolynesiaPYFPolynesia	40.250
75	NepalNPLSouthern Asia	40.197
76	BelarusBLREastern Europe	40.054
77	GeorgiaGEOWestern Asia	39.691
78	SlovakiaSVKEastern Europe	39.537
79	CanadaCANNorthern America	38.809
80	BeninBENWestern Africa	38.534
81	Dominican RepublicDOMCaribbean	38.485
82	ThailandTHASouth-eastern Asia	37.399
83	North MacedoniaMKDSouthern Europe	37.117
84	GambiaGMBWestern Africa	37.009
85	Central African RepublicCAFMiddle Africa	36.908
86	New ZealandNZLAustralia and New Zealand	36.865
87	VanuatuVUTMelanesia	36.284
88	PortugalPRTSouthern Europe	36.245
89	MexicoMEXCentral America	35.518
90	Sri LankaLKASouthern Asia	35.426
91	Saint LuciaLCACaribbean	34.570
92	CzechiaCZEEastern Europe	34.100
93	AndorraANDSouthern Europe	34.043
94	MalawiMWIEastern Africa	34.023
95	VietnamVNMSouth-eastern Asia	33.985
96	CroatiaHRVSouthern Europe	33.485
97	TuvaluTUVPolynesia	33.333
98	NorwayNORNorthern Europe	33.180
99	El SalvadorSLVCentral America	33.175
100	United StatesUSANorthern America	33.105
101	GermanyDEUWestern Europe	32.482
102	SpainESPSouthern Europe	32.310
103	LithuaniaLTUNorthern Europe	31.868
104	BotswanaBWASouthern Africa	31.718
105	BulgariaBGREastern Europe	30.377
106	SwitzerlandCHEWestern Europe	29.938
107	PolandPOLEastern Europe	29.403
108	GuineaGINWestern Africa	28.622
109	AlbaniaALBSouthern Europe	28.290
110	FranceFRAWestern Europe	27.892
111	NigeriaNGAWestern Africa	27.870
112	RomaniaROUEastern Europe	27.741
113	ItalyITASouthern Europe	27.661
114	EswatiniSWZSouthern Africa	27.305
115	GreeceGRCSouthern Europe	27.228
116	Burkina FasoBFAWestern Africa	26.924
117	TürkiyeTURWestern Asia	26.037
118	PhilippinesPHLSouth-eastern Asia	24.986
119	British Virgin IslandsVGBCaribbean	24.547
120	SingaporeSGPSouth-eastern Asia	24.414
121	TogoTGOWestern Africa	23.836
122	ComorosCOMEastern Africa	23.103
123	MadagascarMDGEastern Africa	22.749
124	IndiaINDSouthern Asia	22.365
125	Antigua and BarbudaATGCaribbean	21.927
126	CubaCUBCaribbean	21.619
127	ChileCHLSouth America	21.042
128	HungaryHUNEastern Europe	21.036
129	MauritiusMUSEastern Africa	20.528
130	EthiopiaETHEastern Africa	18.748
131	Côte d’IvoireCIVWestern Africa	18.621
132	BermudaBMUNorthern America	18.519
133	CyprusCYPWestern Asia	18.232
134	ChinaCHNEastern Asia	18.219
135	AustraliaAUSAustralia and New Zealand	17.239
136	San MarinoSMRSouthern Europe	16.667
137	UgandaUGAEastern Africa	16.449
138	UkraineUKREastern Europe	16.293
139	BangladeshBGDSouthern Asia	14.752
140	South AfricaZAFSouthern Africa	14.745
141	BarbadosBRBCaribbean	14.651
142	DenmarkDNKNorthern Europe	13.989
143	HaitiHTICaribbean	13.836
144	LebanonLBNWestern Asia	13.552
145	TongaTONPolynesia	12.431
146	ArgentinaARGSouth America	12.397
147	SomaliaSOMEastern Africa	12.346
148	MoroccoMARNorthern Africa	12.324
149	RwandaRWAEastern Africa	11.998
150	United KingdomGBRNorthern Europe	11.992
151	AzerbaijanAZEWestern Asia	11.710
152	ArmeniaARMWestern Asia	11.706
153	EritreaERIEastern Africa	11.168
154	Turks and Caicos IslandsTCACaribbean	11.074
155	MaliMLIWestern Africa	10.897
156	NetherlandsNLDWestern Europe	10.523
157	MoldovaMDAEastern Europe	10.289
158	NamibiaNAMSouthern Africa	10.048
159	MongoliaMNGEastern Asia	9.235
160	TurkmenistanTKMCentral Asia	8.782
161	BurundiBDIEastern Africa	8.516
162	IrelandIRLNorthern Europe	8.416
163	Cabo VerdeCPVWestern Africa	8.044
164	KenyaKENEastern Africa	6.906
165	UruguayURYSouth America	6.843
166	IsraelISRWestern Asia	6.779
167	UzbekistanUZBCentral Asia	6.671
168	KyrgyzstanKGZCentral Asia	6.087
169	Isle of ManIMNNorthern Europe	6.070
170	PakistanPAKSouthern Asia	6.037
171	IranIRNSouthern Asia	5.680
172	ChadTCDMiddle Africa	5.135
173	TunisiaTUNNorthern Africa	4.253
174	Channel IslandsCHINorthern Europe	4.192
175	United Arab EmiratesAREWestern Asia	4.085
176	TajikistanTJKCentral Asia	2.925
177	MaldivesMDVSouthern Asia	2.733
178	ArubaABWCaribbean	2.333
179	SyriaSYRWestern Asia	2.253
180	IraqIRQWestern Asia	1.861
181	AfghanistanAFGSouthern Asia	1.853
182	PalestinePSEWestern Asia	1.508
183	KiribatiKIRMicronesia	1.457
184	NigerNERWestern Africa	1.195
185	KazakhstanKAZCentral Asia	1.170
186	LesothoLSOSouthern Africa	1.137
187	JordanJORWestern Asia	1.105
188	MaltaMLTSouthern Europe	1.094
189	YemenYEMWestern Asia	1.040
190	AlgeriaDZANorthern Africa	0.674
191	BahrainBHRWestern Asia	0.458
192	Saudi ArabiaSAUWestern Asia	0.454
193	MauritaniaMRTWestern Africa	0.425
194	IcelandISLNorthern Europe	0.259
195	KuwaitKWTWestern Asia	0.249
196	DjiboutiDJIEastern Africa	0.242
197	LibyaLBYNorthern Africa	0.123
198	Faroe IslandsFRONorthern Europe	0.057
199	EgyptEGYNorthern Africa	0.055
200	OmanOMNWestern Asia	0.010
201	GreenlandGRLNorthern America	0.001
=202	GibraltarGIBSouthern Europe	0.000
=202	MonacoMCOWestern Europe	0.000
=202	NauruNRUMicronesia	0.000
=202	QatarQATWestern Asia	0.000

02In 1997

At either end

The 5 countries at each end of the headline.

Highest

1Suriname95.646
2Guyana94.364
3Equatorial Guinea94.141
4Gabon92.050
5Micronesia91.109

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 31.868. “Shared” marks a value another country also holds.

031996 → 1997

Since 1996

What changed between 1996 and this one: who joined or left, and how far the headline moved.

+0 / −0countries joined / left
169values changed, of 205 in both
68 · 101rose · fell
36unchanged

Rose most

Puerto Rico43.475 → 44.702+1.227
Dominican Republic37.703 → 38.485+0.782
Vietnam33.245 → 33.985+0.740
Spain31.672 → 32.310+0.639
Cabo Verde7.440 → 8.044+0.604

Fell most

United States Virgin Islands63.137 → 61.974−1.163
Indonesia59.719 → 58.766−0.953
Côte d’Ivoire19.487 → 18.621−0.867
Nicaragua48.191 → 47.360−0.831
Myanmar56.015 → 55.350−0.666

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.

The site’s method

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 1997.
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 here sorts the published values, and the page says so wherever it prints one.
Which end is better
Neither end is better. The values describe a shape, not a score.
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-1997-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. Share, adapt and use commercially. Credit the publisher and say if you changed anything.

Cite this edition

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) (1997). Forest Area, 1997 [data set], describing 1997. As held by Nations Inquiry, https://nationsinquiry.com/datasets/forest-area/1997

0634 held

Other years

‹ The year before
Forest Area, 1996
205 countries
The year after ›
Forest Area, 1998
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, 1997: questions and answers

Which country has the highest forest area in Forest Area, 1997?

Suriname, at 95.646, of the 205 countries in the file.

What year does Forest Area, 1997 describe?

1997.

How many countries does Forest Area, 1997 cover?

205.

Where can I download Forest Area, 1997?

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, 1997 the newest?

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

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Forest Area, 1997

The table

At either end

Highest

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Since 1996

Rose most

Fell most

Read before you use

Download and cite

Other years

Forest Area, 1997: questions and answers

How are we doing?

Forest Area, 1997

The table

At either end

Highest

Lowest

Since 1996

Rose most

Fell most

Read before you use

Download and cite

Other years

Forest Area, 1997: questions and answers