Global reduction

Global forest cover, or the percentage of the Earth's surface covered by forests, is 31%, representing a total area of ​​4.06 billion hectares.

This means that there are approximately 0.52 hectares of forest per capita.

For comparison, the figures for Poland and Switzerland are 0.25, Germany 0.14, Sweden 3.04, Russia 6.05, China 0.1, and the USA 0.92.

The largest percentage of forests in the world (45%) are located in the tropical zone, followed by the boreal, temperate, and subtropical zones.

More than half (54%) of the world's forests are located in just five countries. The largest forest areas are found in large-scale countries such as Russia (20%), Brazil (12%), Canada (9%), the USA (8%), and China (5%).

The European Union has 159,584,700 hectares of forest. This represents less than 4% of the world's forest area.

Currently, Poland's forest area is 9,283,600 hectares and is continuing its upward trend, similar to most European Union countries.

Globally, the world's forest area is declining, primarily due to South America and Africa.

Poland's forest cover is 29.6%, close to the global average (30.6%).

Our country's forest cover is also similar to that of Europe (excluding Russia), which is 32.2%, and North America (33%).

However, it is lower than the forest cover of South America (49%), Europe including Russia (44.7%), and Central America (38%).

Poland's forest cover is significantly higher than that of Africa (23%), Asia (19%), and Oceania (23%).

Source: Statistics Poland, FAO