Top 30 Most Forested Countries in the World

Forests are vitally important ecosystems for our planet, providing essential ecological services such as regulating the climate, protecting water resources and absorbing carbon from the atmosphere. In this article, we explore the 30 countries with the densest forests, offering remarkable botanical diversity and home to many unique species.

We will then focus on 3 countries which, thanks to their efforts and successful projects, have become models of reforestation worldwide. Finally, discover the main challenges facing the forest in 2023, to be taken into account when talking about deforestation and reforestation.

List of top 30 most forested countries

1. Suriname: 93% of its land is covered by forests
2. Micronesia: 91% of its land is covered by forests
3. Gabon: 88% of its land is covered by forests‍
4. Solomon Islands: 87% of its land is covered by forests
5. Equatorial Guinea: 87% of its land is covered by forests
6. French Guiana: 86% of its land is covered by forests
7. Liberia: 79% of its land is covered by forests
8. Papua New Guinea: 77% of its land is covered by forests
9. Seychelles: 75% of its land is covered by forests
10. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines: 75% of its land is covered by forests
11. Bhutan: 71% of its land is covered by forests
12. Laos: 70% of its land is covered by forests
13. Sweden: 68% of its land is covered by forests
14. Finland: 66% of its land is covered by forests
15. Japan: 66% of its land is covered by forests
16. Brunei Darussalam: 66% of its land is covered by forests
17. Congo: 64% of its land is covered by forests
18. Dominica: 64% of its land is covered by forests
19. Korea: 63% of its land is covered by forests
20. Fiji: 62% of its land is covered by forests
21. Slovenia: 61% of its land is covered by forests
22. Montenegro: 60% of its territory covered by forests
23. Zambia: 60% of its land is covered by forests
24. Brazil: 58% of its land is covered by forests
25. Malaysia: 58% of its land is covered by forests
26. Samoa: 57% of its land is covered by forests
27. Honduras: 57% of territory covered by forests
28. Peru: 56% of its land is covered by forests
29. Panama: 56% of its land is covered by forests
30. Belize: 56% of its land is covered by forests

To give you a better idea of this ranking and data, we've prepared the graph below:

🌎 Also, 49% of South America is covered by forests, 35% of Europe and 26% of Africa.

A closer view of 3 countries that have become models for forest restoration

→ Costa Rica

With nearly 52% of its country covered by forest, Costa Rica has become a model for reforestation efforts worldwide. Its success is due to a global policy emphasizing sustainable development. Among other initiatives, Costa Rica has implemented a reforestation program that uses drones and artificial intelligence to identify areas suitable for planting and monitor tree growth. To find out more, read the Tico Times article.

→ Nepal

Nepal has succeeded in regenerating its forests thanks to the Community Forest Program, which has handed over control of forests to local communities, increasing forest cover from 26% to 45% - in other words, 1.84% forest growth per year. This achievement was made possible by two main factors.

Firstly, the country has relied on local communities: in 1993, a forestry law enabled Nepalese forest wardens to hand over national forests to community forestry groups. This enabled local people to extract resources from the forests and sell forest products, often limiting grazing and tree felling. Secondly, Nepal also received substantial funding (from the Australian government) for the plantation.

→ South Korea

At the end of the Korean War in 1953, the country was almost entirely deforested due to logging and the intensive use of firewood during the 35 years of Japanese occupation at the turn of the century. Since then, government efforts have transformed the barren mountains into dense forests: according to the Korea Times, "between 1961 and 1995, populated forest land increased from 4 million hectares to 6.3 million hectares. The total volume of timber rose from 30.8 million cubic metres in 1954 to over 164.4 million cubic metres in 1984. By 2008, 11 billion trees had been planted. Almost two-thirds of South Korea is now covered by forests. Read more about Insteading.

The forests' main challenges in 2023

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the world's forest area has shrunk by 420 million hectares since 1990, mainly in Africa and South America. It is therefore vital to put a stop to this worrying phenomenon. To do this, it is important to understand how the deforestation and reforestation market is evolving, in order to identify the measures needed to reverse this trend.

The deforestation and reforestation markets are complex, involving many players and divergent interests. National and international policies, environmental regulations and individual actions all play a role in the development of these markets.

3 challenges inside the fight against deforestation

• The conversion of forests to agricultural land, particularly for the production of cash crops such as soy, palm oil and beef, is one of the main causes of deforestation. Growing global demand for these products can stimulate the deforestation market.
• Illegal exploitation of forest resources, such as the unregulated felling of precious woods, also contributes to deforestation. The black market in timber can be lucrative, encouraging some players to continue these illegal practices.
• The expansion of urban areas and the development of infrastructures often lead to deforestation to free up space. Population growth and the growing need for infrastructure increase this need for expansion.

6 actions that promote reforestation

• Awareness of environmental problems: climate change and loss of biodiversity.
• Financial incentives and compensation mechanisms.
• International agreements supporting forest restoration projects.
• Act quickly and on a large scale to respond to the climate emergency.
• Integrating local communities.
• Reforestation with biodiversity, guaranteeing complete restoration of the forest ecosystem.