Deforestation has slowed in all of the world’s regions over the last decade, but forests remain under pressure from continued losses, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) Global Forest Resources Assessment 2025. The report, published every five years, was released today during the Global Forest Observations Initiative Plenary in Bali, Indonesia, showing that while trends have improved, the current rate of deforestation at 10.9 million hectares per year is still too high.
The latest data show that forests cover 4.14 billion hectares—about one-third of the planet’s land area. More than half of forests are now covered by long-term management plans, and one-fifth are within legally established protected areas. The annual rate of net forest loss fell from 10.7 million hectares in the 1990s to 4.12 million hectares in 2015-2025, while deforestation slowed to 10.9 million hectares per year in 2015-2025, down from 17.6 million in 1990-2000.
Forests are important for food security, local livelihoods, and the provision of renewable biomaterials and energy. They’re habitat for a large proportion of the world’s biodiversity, help regulate the global carbon and water cycles, and can reduce the risks and impacts of drought, desertification, soil erosion, landslides, and floods. FAO Director-General QU Dongyu said the assessments are the most comprehensive and transparent global evaluations of forest resources, serving to inform the global community of forest status and changes while supporting decisions, policies, and investments.
Naturally regenerating forests account for 92 percent of total forest area at 3.83 billion hectares. While they declined by 324 million hectares between 1990 and 2025, the rate of net loss slowed significantly, with the biggest declines in the last decade taking place in Africa and South America while Europe registered an increase. Primary forests cover at least 1.18 billion hectares—about one-third of reported forest area—with losses continuing but the rate halved compared with the early 2000s. Planted forests account for about 8 percent of total forest area at an estimated 312 million hectares, increasing in all regions since 1990 but globally at a slower rate in the most recent decade.
The report shows that forest carbon stocks have increased, reaching 714 gigatonnes, and that about 20 percent of forests are in legally established protected areas, an increase of 251 million hectares since 1990. Fire affects an average of 261 million hectares of land annually, nearly half of which is forested, while in 2020, insects, diseases, and severe weather damaged about 41 million hectares of forests, mainly in temperate and boreal regions. The assessment covers 236 countries and areas through a country-driven process, with officially nominated national correspondents from 197 countries contributing data, supported by more than 700 experts worldwide.
