Europe’s forests grow faster
than they are used
The latest SoEF statistics describe Europe’s forest resources, their use, biodiversity, and forest-related risks
Forest balance
”Is forest being used more than it regenerates, and is wood availability secured for the future?”
The forest balance tracks how much forests grow versus how much wood is removed through fellings, natural mortality and disturbances. In 2020 Europe’s net annual increment (NAI) was 682 Mm³ and fellings 550 Mm³.
The utilisation rate was 80.7%, 91.3% in the EU-27 and 90.6% in Finland (FAWS basis). Over the long term the utilisation rate rose from around 60% (1990) to 81% (2020); in the EU-27 the rise was steeper, from 54% to 92%.
- Europe’s total forest area 232 M ha
- Growing stock volume 38,326 million m³
- Forest biomass carbon stock 15,396 Mt C
Meanwhile the growing stock expanded by 11.869 billion m³ and the forest biomass carbon stock rose from 10,260 to 15,396 Mt C (1990–2025). The annual growth of the carbon stock still slowed, from 1.51% (1990–2000) to 0.77% (2010–2025). Use is still below growth, but the utilisation rate is higher than before.
Protection in perspective
”How are forests protected for biodiversity and climate?”
Protection operates at several levels. Protected forest area totals 50.4 million ha, or 26.4% of reporting countries’ forest area. Only 2.2% is in a near-natural, non-intervention state; in total 16.9% (32.2 million ha) is protected for biodiversity, and most protection allows active habitat management.
Cl. 1.1
Cl. 1.3
Cl. 2
Certified forest area reached 117.5 million ha in 2024 and has grown steadily over 25 years. Deadwood averages 14 m³/ha, or 8.6% of the growing stock. Protective forests safeguard soils, waters and infrastructure and cover 38.7% of reporting countries’ forest area.
Bioeconomy flows
”Where does wood go and what is its economic role?”
In Europe’s forest sector, wood flows from the forest to processing, export and energy. Over 2017–2022 roundwood production in Europe averaged 625.8 million m³/yr; the largest producers were Germany (78.6 Mm³), Sweden (75.2 Mm³) and Finland (64.9 Mm³).
The sector employs around 2.4 million people. Gross value added (GVA) was €113.3 billion (2020), up from about €100 billion in 2000–2010.
The forest sector’s share of GDP fell from 1.13% to 0.83%. Wood makes up around 6% of total energy consumption, often as a by-product of other processing.
Risks and health
”What are the real threats to forests?”
In 2020 about 2.1% of the forest area (4.7 million ha) suffered some form of damage. The main drivers are insects and diseases, storms and forest fires, often triggered by drought.
Insect and disease damage has increased over recent decades, especially through bark-beetle outbreaks after drought and storms. Storm damage peaked sharply in Central Europe in 2018–2019. The tree-condition indicator shows that 31.1% of assessed trees were moderately to severely defoliated (more than 25% needle or leaf loss) in 2024.
i Read the risk report
Future and ownership
”Who takes care of forests, and is there investment in them?”
Europe’s forests split almost evenly between private and public owners: 48.8% private, 51.2% public. In Northern Europe private ownership is clearly more common, up to 72%. Finland has 4.06 hectares of forest per capita, the highest in Europe.
Forestry is long-term. Annual investment in the capital stock averaged €26.5/ha (2020), around €4.3 billion across the reporting countries (nominal values, not inflation-adjusted).
Forest-sector employment fell about 25% between 2000 and 2020. Around 64% of forests are even-aged and 36% uneven-aged.
”Private forest owners make long-term decisions that ensure forests are passed on from one generation to the next, with results that show in the forest decades later.”
Data quality assurance
The dataset’s criteria and indicators are based on the FOREST EUROPE process, and the data were collected in the joint pan-European data collection of FOREST EUROPE, UNECE and FAO (Joint Pan-European 2025 Data Collection). National contact persons are responsible for the accuracy of each country’s data, and the consistency of the whole dataset has been validated by experts at the European Forest Institute (EFI). The methods and quality assurance are described in detail in the State of Europe’s Forests 2025 report (PDF).