Forest Research has today (Thursday 26^th September) released the latest Accredited Official Statistics on woodland and forestry in the UK.

Forestry Facts and Figures 2024 is an annual summary of forestry statistics compiled by Forest Research on behalf of the forestry authorities in England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland and provides information on woodland area and cover, timber and wood products, imports and exports to economics, employment, woodland visits and the environment.

Key findings show:

• There are now 3.28 million hectares of woodland in the UK (as of March 2024)
• Woodland area in the UK is increasing and now represents 14.8% of total land area
• 20,660 hectares of new woodland were created in the UK in 2023/24 (compared to 12,960 in 22/23)
• There was a 59% increase in new planting and 28% increase in restocking in the UK in 2023/24
• 57% of the softwood produced in 2023 came from private sector forests
• The UK is the second largest net importer of forest products in the world with $14.1 billion imported to UK and $2.8 billion exported from UK
• Around 21,000 full-time equivalent staff were employed by the forestry sector in the UK in 2022 (compared to 20,000 in 2021)

The full 2024 publication, including details of the sources used and downloadable spreadsheets of data, can be found on the Statistics section of our website.

The UK Statistics Authority has designated these statistics as Accredited Official Statistics, in accordance with the Statistics and Registration Act 2007 and signifying compliance with the Code of Practice for Statistics. For more information visit Research and statistics – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)