Forest Survey of India (FSI)¶
India's biennial forest cover assessment — tracking every hectare of forest across the country since 1987.
Provider
Forest Survey of India (FSI), MoEFCC
Website
Access Level
🟢 No Login for Reports & District Tables
Formats Available
PDF Reports, Excel district tables
Coverage
All India — State and District level
Frequency
Every 2 years (biennial) — ISFR 2021 is latest
What Is the India State of Forest Report?¶
The India State of Forest Report (ISFR) is published by FSI every two years using satellite imagery from IRS/ResourceSat. It classifies all vegetation cover into forest categories and tracks change.
Key finding from ISFR 2021: India has 80.9 million hectares of forest cover — about 21.71% of the country's geographical area.
Forest Classification¶
| Category | Canopy Cover | Area (2021) |
|---|---|---|
| Very Dense Forest (VDF) | >70% | 20.0 Mha |
| Moderately Dense Forest (MDF) | 40–70% | 30.6 Mha |
| Open Forest (OF) | 10–40% | 30.3 Mha |
| Scrub | <10% (degraded) | 5.5 Mha |
| Tree Cover (outside forest) | Outside RF/PF boundary | 29.7 Mha |
What Counts as 'Forest'?
FSI's definition: any land with tree canopy cover >10% and area >1 hectare, irrespective of legal status. This includes plantations, orchards, and bamboo groves — not just natural forests.
State-wise Forest Cover (Top 10, ISFR 2021)¶
| State | Forest Cover (ha) | % of State Area |
|---|---|---|
| Madhya Pradesh | 77,493 km² | 25.14% |
| Arunachal Pradesh | 65,882 km² | 79.01% |
| Chhattisgarh | 55,717 km² | 41.09% |
| Odisha | 52,156 km² | 33.50% |
| Maharashtra | 50,798 km² | 16.47% |
| Jharkhand | 23,721 km² | 29.81% |
| Uttarakhand | 24,303 km² | 45.44% |
| Telangana | 20,582 km² | 18.17% |
How to Download FSI Data¶
Method 1: Full Reports (PDF) 🟢¶
- Go to fsi.nic.in
- Click "Publications" → "India State of Forest Report"
- Select ISFR year (2021, 2019, 2017, 2015...)
- Download PDF — each report has state and district-level tables
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