Eastern Asia contains 17% of the forest area in the world, a total of 655 million hectares.  Per capita, there are 0.21 hectares of forest land, a far lower figure than the global rate of 0.71.  Unfortunately, deforestation is becoming a very large threat to the forests in the region.

Most countries in Eastern Asia have a minimum of 20% forest cover.  However, much of the forest area is highly concentrated.  Three countries, Australia, China, and Indonesia, hold over half of the area's forest supplies.

From 1981-1990, deforestation claimed 3.9 million hectares annually.  The figure had nearly doubled from the 1976-1981 statistics.  The countries hit hardest by deforestation are Thailand, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and the Philippines.

The South-East Asian nations, while among the regions most densely covered with forests, are also losing their forest areas fastest.  In Thailand, for example, 980,000 hectares were lost between 1989 and 1993.  Thailand and the Philippines both lost about 4% of their forests from 1981 to 1990.

South Asia has the lowest per capita forest levels, at only 0.08 hectares.

The highest per capita forest level in the region is the Pacific area, at 5.88 hectares.  This region is also only losing 130,000 hectares to deforestation annually, the lowest rate in Eastern Asia.  Papua New Guinea, with 9.4 acres of forest per person, has the highest forest levels in Eastern Asia.

Currently, tropical forest areas are being rapidly reduced in area.  Much of the problem lies in population growth, though other factors are contributing as well.