At a Glance
Four facts to hold on to.
Total
Forest + tree cover: 25.17% of India (ISFR 2023).
Top by %
Lakshadweep 91.33%, Mizoram 85.34%.
Top by area
Madhya Pradesh 77,073 sq km.
PYQ order
Maharashtra < MP < Odisha < Chhattisgarh.
In this lesson
India’s National Forest Cover
Definition and national total
- Forest cover means land over one hectare with tree canopy density above 10 percent.
- It counts regardless of ownership or legal status.
- The Forest Survey of India measures it and publishes the ISFR every two years.
- ISFR 2023 (the 18th report) was released on 21 December 2024.
- Forest and tree cover together are 25.17 percent of India’s area.
- That splits into 21.76 percent forest cover and 3.41 percent tree cover.
- Forest cover is 7,15,343 sq km in 2023. A decade earlier it was 6,98,712 sq km in 2013.
- Sources: Drishti IAS summary of ISFR 2023 and PIB.
True or False: Per ISFR 2023, India’s forest and tree cover together total about 25.17% of the country’s area.
Which States and UTs Lead
Highest by percentage
| Rank | State or UT | Forest cover |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lakshadweep (UT) | 91.33% |
| 2 | Mizoram | 85.34% |
| 3 | Andaman & Nicobar Islands (UT) | 81.62% |
- Mizoram is the highest-ranked actual state.
- Eight states and UTs cross 75 percent: Mizoram, Lakshadweep, Andaman & Nicobar, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Tripura and Manipur.
- Six of the eight are in the Northeast.
- Source: Drishti IAS, ISFR 2023.
Largest by area
| Rank | State | Forest cover area |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Madhya Pradesh | 77,073 sq km |
| 2 | Arunachal Pradesh | 65,882 sq km |
| 3 | Chhattisgarh | 55,812 sq km |
- None of the top three by percentage appear in the top three by area.
- A small, densely forested territory can win on percentage.
- Only a large state with much forest can win on raw area.
True or False: Mizoram has India’s highest forest-cover percentage of any state or Union Territory.
True or False: Madhya Pradesh has the largest forest cover area of any Indian state, at 77,073 sq km.
Previous Year Questions
UPSC 2019 and NDA 2016 tested forest cover in two different ways.
- UPSC 2019Rank Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Chhattisgarh by forest-cover percentage, lowest to highest. The answer is Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Chhattisgarh. View the question.
- NDA-NA (II) 2016Rank Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Arunachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh by total forest area. By area the order is Madhya Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand. View the question.
True or False: Ranked lowest to highest forest-cover percentage, the order is Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Chhattisgarh.
True or False: NDA-NA (II) 2016 and UPSC CSP 2019 tested the exact same ranking of the same four states.
Why Percentage and Area Rankings Differ
Four often-tested central states
| State | Approx. forest-cover share |
|---|---|
| Chhattisgarh | about 41% |
| Odisha | about 34% |
| Madhya Pradesh | about 25% |
| Maharashtra | about 17% |
- These shares are forest cover area divided by state area, so they are approximate.
- The order has stayed the same across recent reports.
- Madhya Pradesh has the largest area but ranks third of the four on percentage. Its state is just very large.
The area effect and geography
- A small state or UT can show a high percentage with a modest forest area.
- A large state can show a low percentage despite huge forest area.
- Chhattisgarh’s share comes from its central highlands and the Bastar plateau. Much of this land never suited intensive farming.
- Northeast hills and low population density work the same way, at larger scale.
- Maharashtra is mostly the Deccan plateau and long-farmed black-soil tracts. Centuries of farming cut its natural forest share.
Gains and losses together
- Largest forest-cover increases: Mizoram (+242 sq km), Gujarat (+180) and Odisha (+152).
- Largest decreases in combined forest and tree cover between the 2021 and 2023 assessments: Madhya Pradesh (−612.41 sq km), Karnataka (−459.36) and Ladakh (−159.26). These are not forest-cover-only figures.
- So the top state by area also had the biggest fall.
- National totals can rise while some states lose ground.
- Sources: Drishti IAS and DD News.
Think it through: why can Madhya Pradesh hold the largest forest area while Chhattisgarh has the higher percentage?
These are two different measurements. Forest area is a raw total, so a huge state like Madhya Pradesh can have the biggest number. Percentage compares forest to the state’s own size. Chhattisgarh is smaller, but a larger share of its land stays forested.
True or False: Madhya Pradesh recorded the largest decrease in forest cover of any state between the two most recent ISFR editions.
True or False: Among Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh has both the highest forest-cover percentage and the largest forest area.
True or False: Eight states and Union Territories have forest cover above 75%, and six of them are in India’s Northeast.
Quick Q&A
Highest forest-cover %?
Lakshadweep.
Highest state by %?
Mizoram.
Largest forest area?
Madhya Pradesh.
Highest % of the central four?
Chhattisgarh.
Lowest % of the central four?
Maharashtra.
🎲 Practice: Forest Cover in India: National Rankings, ISFR 2023
3 verified questions from this topic.
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