Forest Cover of India from 1987 to 2015

December 21, 2016

Author: susil

The forest cover in India was 640819 square kilometer in 1987. The percentage of forest cover to the total geographical area in India was 19.49% in 1987.

The forest cover was 639364 square kilometer in 1991. There was a decrease of -1455 square kilometer in forest cover as compared to 1987. In percentage terms, the decrease was -0.23% during the period from 1987 to 1991. The percentage of forest cover to the total geographical area was 19.45% in 1991. It decreased by -0.04 percentage points as compared to 1987. The forest cover was 638879 square kilometer in 1995. There was a decrease of -485 square kilometer in forest cover as compared to 1991. In percentage terms, the decrease was -0.08% during the period from 1991 to 1995. The percentage of forest cover to the total geographical area was 19.43% in 1995. It decreased by -0.02 percentage points as compared to 1991.

The forest cover was 653898 square kilometer in 2001. There was an increase of 15019 square kilometer in forest cover as compared to 1995. In percentage terms, the growth was 2.35% during the period from 1995 to 2001. The percentage of forest cover to the total geographical area was 19.89% in 2001. It increased by 0.46 percentage points as compared to 1995. The forest cover was 690171 square kilometer in 2005. There was an increase of 36273 square kilometer in forest cover as compared to 2001. In percentage terms, the growth was 5.55% during the period from 2001 to 2005. The percentage of forest cover to the total geographical area was 21% in 2005. It increased by 1.11 percentage points as compared to 2001.

The forest cover was 692027 square kilometer in 2011. There was an increase of 1856 square kilometer in forest cover as compared to 2005. In percentage terms, the growth was 0.27% during the period from 2005 to 2011. The percentage of forest cover to the total geographical area was 21.05% in 2011. It increased by 0.05 percentage points as compared to 2005. The forest cover was 697898 square kilometer in 2013. There was an increase of 5871 square kilometer in forest cover as compared to 2011. In percentage terms, the growth was 0.85% during the period from 2011 to 2013. The percentage of forest cover to the total geographical area was 21.23% in 2013. It increased by 0.18 percentage points as compared to 2011.

The forest cover was 701673 square kilometer in 2015. There was an increase of 3775 square kilometer in forest cover as compared to 2013. In percentage terms, the growth was 0.54% during the period from 2013 to 2015. The percentage of forest cover to the total geographical area was 21.34% in 2015. It increased by 0.11 percentage points as compared to 2013.

Note: Area in square kilometer; State of Forest Report (SFR) renamed as India State of Forest Report (ISFR) in 2009; Source: Rajya Sabha Session – 239 Unstarred Question No.1632.

Dataset URL: https://data.gov.in/catalog/answers-data-rajya-sabha-questions-session-239
Resource Title: Forest geographical area coverage of India from 1987 to 2015(From : Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change)