Key Takeaways
- Sweden has the most forest area in the EU, at 279,330 km² in 2023.
- The EU’s four largest forest holders are Sweden, Finland, Spain, and France. Together, they hold more forest area than the other 23 member states combined.
- Finland has the highest forest share in the EU. Forest covers 66.5% of its land, ahead of Sweden’s 62.4%.
- Malta has the lowest forest share in the EU, at 4.3% of its land area. It reflects how little undeveloped land remains for forest cover.
- Climate and terrain are the main drivers of Finland and Sweden’s lead in forest cover in the EU. Cold climates and rugged terrain limit farmland in Finland and Sweden. Forest remains instead of cropland.
Forest Area Varies Sharply Across EU Countries
| Country | Forest Area | Land area (In km²) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| In km² | % share of land area | ||
| EU-27 | 1,614,760 | 39.0 (i) | 4,140,411 |
| Sweden | 279,330 | 62.4 (p) | 447,644 |
| Finland | 225,100 | 66.5 | 338,496 |
| Spain | 190,725 | 37.7 (i) | 505,888 |
| France | 177,170 | 32.3 (ep) | 548,514 |
| Germany | 114,884 | 32.1 | 357,896 |
| Poland | 94,071 | 30.2 | 311,494 |
| Italy | 93,970 | 31.1 | 302,154 |
| Romania | 69,921 | 29.3 (e) | 238,707 |
| Greece | 47,628 | 36.2 (i) | 131,570 |
| Bulgaria | 39,120 | 35.2 (p) | 111,136 |
| Austria | 38,983 | 46.5 | 83,834 |
| Latvia | 34,519 | 53.4 | 64,625 |
| Portugal | 33,445 | 36.3 | 92,136 |
| Czechia | 29,462 | 37.4 | 78,775 |
| Estonia | 24,542 | 54.1 | 45,363 |
| Lithuania | 22,214 | 34.0 | 65,335 |
| Hungary | 20,743 | 22.3 | 93,022 |
| Slovakia | 19,555 | 39.9 | 49,011 |
| Croatia | 19,445 | 34.4 | 56,526 |
| Slovenia | 11,796 | 58.2 | 20,267 |
| Ireland | 8,283 | 11.8 | 70,192 |
| Belgium | 6,893 | 22.5 | 30,636 |
| Denmark | 6,666 | 15.5 | 43,008 |
| Netherlands | 3,634 | 9.7 | 37,467 |
| Cyprus | 1,717 | 18.6 | 9,234 |
| Luxembourg | 931 | 35.9 | 2,594 |
| Malta | 14 | 4.3 | 316 |
Source: Eurostat (2023)
Land area is calculated by dividing the forest area by the forest share of land area.
p = provisional
e = estimated
ep = estimated and provisional
i = value imputed by Eurostat or other receiving agencies
EU countries hold 1,614,760 km² of forest in total. This forest area covers 39.0% of the EU’s total land area in 2023.
Sweden has the most forest area in the EU at 279,330 km². Sweden is also the EU’s third-largest country by land area. Forest covers 62.4% of that land.
Meanwhile, Finland has the highest forest share in the EU. Sweden only comes in second.
- Finland: 66.5%
- Sweden: 62.4%
- Slovenia: 58.2%
- Estonia: 54.1%
Cold climates and rugged terrain limit farmland in Finland and Sweden. Forest remains instead of cropland. Woodland and shrubland is a broader land-cover category that includes forest along with other natural vegetation. This category covers 71.1% of Finland’s land and 69.5% of Sweden’s. These are the two highest shares in the EU.
Total forest area and forest share measure different things. The total area counts how much land is covered by forest. That puts Sweden first. Forest share measures the fraction of a country’s land that forests represent. That puts Finland first.
On the other end, Malta has the lowest forest share in the EU.
- Malta: 4.3%
- Netherlands: 9.7%
- Ireland: 11.8%
Limited land drives Malta’s low share. Artificial land, meaning roads, buildings, and other developed surfaces, covers 25.9% of Malta’s territory. It is the highest share among EU countries.
Forest cover across the EU follows geography, not policy. Cold climates and rugged terrain push Finland and Sweden to the top in both total area and share. Dense development pushes Malta to the bottom. Heavy agricultural land use does the same for Ireland. The EU’s combined forest area reflects 27 different national starting points, not a shared standard.
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