Global Forest Resources Assessments

To tackle climate change and deforestation, people need transparent and accurate information on the world’s forests.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has released an open data platform containing a wealth of information on forest resources in all six official UN languages.

Launched in English in July 2020 and subsequently translated into Arabic, Chinese, French, Spanish and Russian, the site features data and information from the world’s most comprehensive and official forest data source, the Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020.

Access to this information:

• helps shape policy;
• informs and encourages forest investment decisions by governments, private companies, NGOs, and donor organizations;
• supports countries to meet the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement.

The Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020 examines the status and trends, management, and use of forest resources from 1990–2020, focusing on 60 variables for 236 countries and territories.

Open and easy-to-use data

Global forest information has never been so easily accessible. The platform is a one-stop-shop for users to:

• visualize data and metadata using informative dashboards;
• interact with the complete FRA 2020 dataset;
• access statistical summaries at country, regional, global level as well as for custom groupings;
• download ready-to-use tables and bulk data for analyses and research.

Also in six languages: main report and digital report with the key results

The detailed findings of the data analysis are presented in the main report.

For a summary overview of the world’s forests, look at the digital report: a fresh perspective – a five-minute read.

Behind the data

Countries report data to FAO through a standardized reporting process that ensures consistency and transparency. Watch the FRA animation to learn more about the process.