New Delhi, Oct. 22 -- India has climbed one spot to ninth globally in terms of total forest area, according to a report released by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Bali. The country also maintained its third position worldwide in terms of annual forest area gain.

The area under forest cover in India stood at 72.7 million hectares, according to the Global Forest Resources Assessment (GFRA) 2025.

India's rise from the 10th to the ninth position marks a "major achievement" in sustainable forest management and ecological conservation, minister for environment, forest and climate change Bhupender Yadav said in a post on X.

Russia (832.6 million hectares) had the highest forest area globally, followed by Brazil (486 million he...