Forests account for 40 percent of Belarus' territory
Forests make up 40.5% of Belarus' territory, and the country ranks second in terms of forest coverage among CIS states. These figures were provided by Belstat, Minsk-news reports .
The total area of Belarus is 20,762.9 thousand hectares. Agricultural lands occupy 38.2% of the territory, and another 5.7% is accounted for by swamps and water bodies. The forest fund as of January 1, 2026, totaled 9,801.4 thousand hectares.
Specially protected natural areas occupy 1,903 thousand hectares, or 9.2% of the country's area. Belarus has one nature reserve, four national parks, 375 wildlife sanctuaries, and 976 natural monuments.
In 2025, 310 species of wild plants and 213 species of wild animals were included in the Red Book. Among the rare Red Book species, reptiles are the most numerous — 28.6%. Mammals are in second place (26.5%), and birds are in third (20.6%).