Forest area as a proportion of total land area [BIP]
Forest area as a proportion of total land area [BIP]
Indicator description
Information on the extent of forests is regularly collected and analysed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) through its Global Forest Resources Assessments (FRA).
The extent of forests is a baseline variable which provides an indication of the relative extent of forests in a country.
According to the FAO definitions, Forest is defined as: “land spanning more than 0.5 hectares with trees higher than 5 meters and a canopy cover of more than 10 percent, or trees able to reach these thresholds in situ. It does not include land that is predominantly under agricultural or urban land use”. Total land area is the total surface area of a country less the area covered by inland waters, like major rivers and lakes. The indicator is expressed as percent.
