Forest cover by region (bar chart)

The bar chart compares the percentage of land area covered by forest in five regions: North, South, East, West and Central.

Overall, forest cover varied widely between the regions, with the North having by far the most and the Central region the least. The figures decreased steadily moving from North through to Central.

The North had the highest proportion of forest, at 58% of its land area, well above all the others. The South came second at 42%, followed by the East at 33%. These three regions all had roughly a third or more of their land under forest.

The remaining two regions were considerably lower. The West had only 21% forest cover, while the Central region had the lowest figure of all at just 12%, less than a quarter of the level recorded in the North. In fact, the gap between the highest and lowest regions was almost fivefold.

The bar chart shows the proportion of land covered by forest, as a percentage of total land area, in five regions.

Overall, there is considerable variation between the regions. The North is by far the most heavily forested, whereas the Central region has very little forest cover.

The North stands out clearly, with forests occupying 58 per cent of its land area — the highest figure of any region. The South follows in second place at 42 per cent, meaning that in both of these regions a substantial share of the land is wooded.

Forest cover is markedly lower in the remaining three regions. In the East, one third of the land (33 per cent) is forested, while in the West the figure falls to just 21 per cent. The Central region is the least forested of all, with woodland accounting for only 12 per cent of its land area. This means the North has almost five times as much forest cover, proportionally, as the Central region.