Forest Statistics – Ireland 2021 includes up-to-date information on all aspects of the forest sector in Ireland including planting rates, species composition, harvesting, carbon sequestration, forest health, employment, recreation and comparisons with our European and global counterparts.
It is the definitive compendium of up-to-date information on forestry in Ireland and is the go-to reference document for those interested in Irish forestry.
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Key statistics
• At 11.4%, forest cover in Ireland in 2020 was one of the lowest in the EU 27, where the average forest cover was 38.3%; Worldwide forest cover was 31.1%;
• In 2020, public forest ownership in Ireland was at 54%, close to the EU average of 53.5%;
• Annual roundwood harvest was 4.7 million m3, compared with an EU average of 21.8 million m3 in the same year (2015 data);
• Fellings represented at 64.5% of annual increment in 2015, which was slightly below the EU average of 66.8%;
• Of all the EU Member States, since 1990 Ireland has had the highest rate of increase in forest expansion as a percentage of total forest cover.
Species Composition of the total stocked forest area (NFI, 2017)
Forest Area by County
Map of National Forest Cover
