Global deforestation has declined over the past decade, yet forests remain under significant pressure due to the still high rate of forest area loss, according to the Global Forest Resources Assessment 2025 (FRA 2025) released on Wednesday by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
The study, presented during the plenary meeting of the Global Forest Observations Initiative (GFOI) in Bali, Indonesia, reveals that forests currently cover 4.14 billion hectares — roughly one-third of the Earth’s land surface.
According to FRA 2025 data, global deforestation has slowed to an annual average of 10.9 million hectares between 2015 and 2025, compared with 17.6 million hectares lost each year between 1990 and 2000. Even so, the FAO warns that this figure remains “too high” and that forest ecosystems “continue to face serious challenges.”
The rate of net forest loss also shows a positive trend: it has fallen from 10.7 million hectares in the 1990s to 4.1 million in the 2015–2025 period. At the same time, the growth of new forests has declined, reflecting a closer balance between deforestation and regeneration. The report highlights progress in forest protection and management. More than half of the world’s forests — 2.13 billion hectares — are under long-term management plans, and one fifth (around 813 million hectares) are within legally protected areas, an increase of 251 million hectares since 1990.
In terms of forest types, 92% of the total corresponds to naturally regenerating forests, while primary forests cover 1.18 billion hectares — about one-third of the world’s forest area. Planted forests represent 8% of the total, with 312 million hectares, and although their extent continues to grow, it is doing so at a slower pace than in previous decades.
Forests play an essential role in food security, rural livelihoods and the fight against climate change. They are home to much of the planet’s biodiversity and help regulate carbon and water cycles, as well as mitigate risks such as desertification, soil erosion and flooding.
FAO Director-General QU Dongyu stressed in the report’s foreword that the FRAs “constitute the most comprehensive and transparent global assessments of forest resources, their condition and their management.” He also noted that the data collected “serve to inform policies, decisions and investments related to forests and the ecosystem services they provide.”
The 2025 edition includes new digital tools, such as an interactive online database for 236 countries, an API for automated data access and downloadable national reports in PDF format.
The FRA 2025 is the result of an international collaborative process involving 197 countries through national correspondents and more than 700 experts. This cooperation, according to the FAO, has improved data consistency and reduced the reporting burden on countries.
The report’s findings support the monitoring of international commitments such as the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Paris Agreement, the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the United Nations Strategic Plan for Forests 2017–2030.
“The data show encouraging progress but also make it clear that we must redouble our efforts to protect and restore forests, which are essential for the planet’s balance,” the FAO concludes.
