According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in the Global Forest Resources Assessment 2025, global forest carbon stock increased after 2000.
Initially, global forest carbon stock decreased from 715.63 billion tons in 1990 to 705.96 billion tons in 2000.
“The increase after 2000 can largely be attributed to the expansion of forest area in certain regions, especially Asia and Europe,” FAO explained in its report.
In calculating global forest carbon stock trends, FAO used complete time-series data on carbon in above-ground and below-ground forest biomass from 210 countries.
Furthermore, 91 countries provided data on deadwood carbon, 74 countries provided data on soil organic carbon, and 73 countries provided data on litter carbon.
In 2025, FAO recorded that global forest carbon stock reached 713.91 billion tons, or the equivalent of 172 tons per hectare, a slight increase of 0.1% compared to 713.20 billion tons in 2020.
According to FAO, global carbon stock in 2025 was similar to that in 1990, but with regional and subregional differences.
“For example, forest carbon stock was significantly higher in 2025 compared to 1990 in East Asia, Europe, and North America, driven by the expansion of forest area, and much lower in South America, Africa, and Central America,” FAO explained.