Which country has more of its land under forest?
Which of these two countries has more of its land under forest? This is a share, not a total, so a small country can beat a large one. Build a streak by reading each pair correctly. There is no timer, and one wrong answer ends the run.
How to play
- Two countries appear side by side (stacked on a phone). The first shows its share of land under forest; the second keeps its value hidden.
- Decide whether the second one is higher or lower and press Higher or Lower.
- The hidden value counts up and your answer is judged. When you are right, the second card moves across and a new one takes its place.
- One wrong answer ends the run. There is no timer, and values stay fixed for the whole run. Countries without a value for this measure sit out, and two countries whose values read the same are never paired.
- Your result is saved in this browser. Once enough people have played a game, the results also show how your score ranks, and you can copy or share an image of your result, or replay.
Understanding the comparison
Share and total pull in opposite directions. Brazil holds an enormous forest but Suriname, Guyana and Gabon are more forested by share. Cold does not mean bare either: Finland and Sweden score high. Deserts and long-settled farmland score low, which puts Egypt, Ireland and Bangladesh near the bottom.
Forest cover by country: all 191 countries ranked
Show the full ranking (191 countries)
World Bank indicator AG.LND.FRST.ZS for 2023, as used in the game. Values that read the same share a rank. Kosovo, Monaco, Nauru, Qatar, Taiwan and Vatican City have no figure for this measure and sit out.
Frequently asked questions
Does the country with the most forest win?
No. The game compares the share of land under forest, not the total. Brazil holds an enormous forest, but Suriname, Guyana and Gabon are more forested by share.
Which country is the most forested?
Suriname, at 94.4% (World Bank, 2023).
Which country has the least forest cover?
Oman, at 0.0076% (World Bank, 2023).
Where does the data come from?
The World Bank’s open data, 2023 figures from indicator AG.LND.FRST.ZS. 191 of the 197 countries in our list have a figure in the game. Kosovo, Monaco, Nauru, Qatar, Taiwan and Vatican City have no figure for this measure and sit out.
Forest percentage versus total forest area
The question is about the fraction of land classified as forest. A small country can rank above a large one on percentage while containing far fewer square kilometres of forest.
This measure does not by itself describe biodiversity, forest age, ecosystem health or whether tree cover is increasing. A correct comparison teaches one dimension of land use, not an overall environmental score. Keep percentages separate from absolute areas when recalling what you know about a country.
How this measure is defined
The figure is the share of land area under forest using the FAO definition: tree cover above a minimum height and canopy density over a minimum area. Orchards, plantations grown for fruit, and urban parks are excluded. Land under long-term restoration still counts as forest.
Sources
Source: World Bank · Data period: 2023 · Collected: (UTC)
Share of land area under forest, using the FAO definition of tree cover over a minimum height and canopy density. Orchards and urban parks are excluded.
The collection date tells you when we retrieved the source, not when every underlying observation was made. A failed refresh does not advance that date. For comparisons, the snapshot loaded for your run supplies the answers.
Found an incorrect answer or a source that needs updating? Send a correction with the game name and a reference.