FOREST AREA OF THE WORLD
Exclusive of the forests of China, Corea and parts of Africa and South
America, for which there are no available data, the forest area of the
world is approximately 3,800,000,000 acres.
The forests of Europe total upwards of 750,000,000 or, roughly
speaking, about 31 per cent. of the total land area of the Continent;
whilst among non-European countries Canada comes first with 799,000,000
acres, United States, 545,000,000, tropical South America 528,000,000,
Asiatic Russia 348,000,000, and Central Africa 224,000,000.
Finland is, perhaps, the best wooded country in the world, Bosnia,
Herzegovina and Sweden coming next, whilst amongst the least wooded
areas are Great Britain and Portugal, the former including only about 4
per cent. of the total area of the land.
So far as is at present known the following are the approximate areas
of woodlands in the various countries of the world:—
COUNTRY. TOTAL FOREST AREA.
(Acres.)
Russia—
European Russia 461,611,000
Finland 52,500,000
Austria-Hungary—
Austria 23,996,000
Hungary 18,692,000
Croatia and Slavonia 3,769,000
Bosnia and Herzegovina 6,380,000
Sweden 49,390,000
Germany 34,990,000
France 24,021,000
Norway 16,848,000
Spain 16,065,000
Italy 10,115,000
Bulgaria 7,603,000
Roumania 6,367,000
British Isles 3,071,361
Switzerland 2,140,000
Belgium 1,304,000
Servia 3,865,000
Other Countries 4,427,000
——————
747,154,361
Asiatic Russia 348,030,000
India 149,000,000
Ceylon 6,763,000
Japan 57,718,000
Philippine Islands 49,000,000
British Australasia 126,720,000
Cape Colony, Natal, Swaziland and Transvaal 641,000
Madagascar 25,000,000
Barbary States 9,527,000
Central Africa 224,000,000
South America (tropical) 528,000,000
West Indies 42,669,000
Canada 799,360,000
Mexico 25,000,000
Alaska 107,000,000
United States of America 545,000,000
Other Countries including the Straits
Settlement, Java, etc. 6,870,000
————————————
3,050,298,000
The approximate area of woodlands in Great Britain and Ireland are:—
Acres.
England 1,715,473
Scotland 868,409
Wales 184,361
Ireland 303,118
——————————
3,071,361