Juris Paiders writes in the 27 May issue of the magazine “Dienas Bizness”:
“In truth, countries with substantial forest resources per capita are donor countries: their territory absorbs carbon dioxide at an elevated rate and supplies oxygen to all living nature. Countries that have destroyed their forest resources, or that never had large enough ones to begin with, are to a great extent living off those countries that have preserved their natural resources.
Latvia is among the world's forest resource donor countries. Latvia maintains considerable forest areas relative to its population, providing both biological diversity and ecological balance worldwide.
Besides total forest area per capita, another important indicator is how forest area per capita is changing.
The arithmetic is simple. If a country's total forest area shrinks while its population grows, then forest area per capita will fall. If a country's total forest area increases while its population stays the same or declines, then forest area per capita will rise. Data compiled by the World Bank show that between 1992 and 2022 the world average for forest area per capita fell considerably. In 1992 there were 0.76 hectares of forest for every inhabitant of the planet. By 2022, forest area per capita worldwide was more than 33 per cent lower — just 0.51 hectares per inhabitant of the Earth.
In the EU the trend was entirely the opposite. In 1992 the EU average was 0.33 hectares of forest per inhabitant, whereas in 2022 it was already 0.36 hectares per inhabitant. These changes were driven both by EU and member state policy protecting natural resources and by falling populations in EU member states, specifically in Eastern Europe. Over the same period, forest area per capita in Latin America decreased considerably.
In 1992 Latin America had 2.3 hectares of forest per inhabitant, but in 2022 only 1.4 hectares. This change was driven both by rapid population growth and by intensified deforestation for the needs of the extractive industries and agriculture. Whereas in 1992 Estonia and Latvia had less forest per inhabitant than the Latin American average, by 2022 the picture is radically reversed: both Estonia and Latvia are ahead of Latin America in forest area per capita.
Over this period Latvia's total forest area increased while its population declined. In 1992 Latvia had 1.22 hectares of forest per inhabitant, and in 2022 — 1.82 hectares per inhabitant. As a result, Latvia's forest area per capita has risen one and a half times over the past 30 years (+49%), and on this indicator Latvia ranks 4th in the world. Very similar trends were seen in Estonia.
Lithuania, by contrast, had smaller forest areas and a larger population than Latvia and Estonia in 1992, and so Lithuania's forest area per capita still lagged considerably behind Latvia's and Estonia's even in 2022.
The world leader in terms of change between 1992 and 2022 was Uruguay, where forest area per capita doubled, putting Uruguay in first place globally. Next came Iceland (+83.4%), Bulgaria (+55.2%) and Latvia (+49.2%). Behind Latvia came Cabo Verde (+47.3%), Lithuania (+46.9%, and sixth place in the world), Cuba (+46.2%), Ukraine (+42.8%) and Moldova (+37.6%).
Estonia ranked 14th in the world for growth in forest area between 1992 and 2022 (+25.3%). Significant growth in forest area per capita was also seen in Croatia (+24.2%), Belarus (+23.6%), Italy (+20.4%), Hungary (+20.1%), Greece (+15.9%), China (+14.6%), Poland (+11.1%) and Ireland (+10.7%). Between 1992 and 2022, forest area per capita in the European Union grew by an average of 6.8%.
Forest area per capita also increased in Spain (+4.7%), Russia (+3.8%), France (+3.3%), Denmark (+2.4%) and Slovakia (+0.7%).
Between 1992 and 2022, forest area per capita increased in only 34 countries worldwide. In the majority of the world's countries, forest area per capita fell. In Japan (-0.6%), the Czech Republic (-1.4%), Slovenia (-2.6%), Germany (-2.9%) and the United Kingdom (-3.2%) the decline in forest area per capita was negligible. Across the Arab states on average, given population growth, forest area per capita fell by 7.2%. Among European countries, forest area per capita fell appreciably in Finland (-7.5%), the Netherlands (-8.5%), Belgium (-9.4%), Austria (-10.8%) and Switzerland (-14.0%).
Between 1992 and 2022, forest area per capita in OECD member states fell by 16.8%, including by 17.6% in Sweden, by 21.0% in Norway and by 21.2% in the USA. Forest area per capita fell somewhat above the global average decline (-34.4%) in India (-28.0%) and Cyprus (-31.6%).
Forest area per capita fell by more than the world average in Latin America (-39.2%). Forest area per capita declined at a considerable rate in Africa — in eastern and southern Africa it shrank by 57.7%, and in western and central Africa by 61.3%.
Between 1992 and 2022, forest area per capita fell by more than 70% in Angola, Mauritania, Afghanistan, the UAE, Equatorial Guinea, Benin, Somalia, Uganda, the Gambia, Chad, Niger and Côte d'Ivoire.”
The full article can be read in the 27 May 2025 issue of the magazine “Dienas Bizness”