Reference metadata describe statistical concepts and methodologies used for the collection and generation of data. They provide information on data quality and, since they are strongly content-oriented, assist users in interpreting the data. Reference metadata, unlike structural metadata, can be decoupled from the data.
Forest Europe - State of Europe's Forests: 5 yearly data collection
Data covered by this metadata file are published in the following tables in Eurostat's public database:
Area of wooded land:
from EFA: table for_area_efa
from FAO - FRA: table for_area
Value of wooded land:
from EFA: table for_area_efa
Volume of timber:
from EFA: table for_vol_efa; in addition, this table has been gap-filled with modelled data using the Carbon Budget Model and official statistics reported to FAO (FAO FRA) and Eurostat (Joint Forest Sector Questionnaire) as input data, as described in this JRC technical report;
from FAO - FRA: table: for_vol
Value of timber:
from EFA: table for_vol_efa
Protective functions of forests:
from Forest Europe: for_profnc
Protected forests:
from Forest Europe: for_protect
The EFA questionnaire and its explanatory notes can be found on the methodological section of environmental statistics and accounts (under the 'Forest accounts' dropdown menu). In addition to data on forest area and the volume of timber, EFA also covers economic data on forestry and logging, output of the forestry industry by type, physical and monetary data on supply and use of wood, and employment data. These are explained in the metadata file for Economic aggregates of forestry.
3.2. Classification system
EFA uses NACE Rev. 2 (2008)
The forest definitions are those of FAO - FRA 2015.
3.3. Coverage - sector
NACE Rev, 2 sector Forestry and logging (02)
3.4. Statistical concepts and definitions
Forest accounts provide a detailed view of forest-related assets (land and timber).
Detailed information on the EFA concepts and definitions can be found in EFA explanatory notes.
3.5. Statistical unit
Data on the area of wooded land and the volumne of timber are collected and presented at national level.
3.6. Statistical population
Area of wooded land, both physical and monetary
Timber output by type of wooded land, both physical and monetary
Protective functions of forests, by area
Protected forests, by area
3.7. Reference area
EU Member States, EFTA countries, the UK, candidate countries.
Data for France cover only mainland France without the overseas territories and dominions French Guyana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Réunion or Mayotte.
3.8. Coverage - Time
EFA data: coverage differs across countries
FAO - FRA data: from 1990
Concepts and definitions are mainained throughout the presented time series unless indicated by a b) footnote.
3.9. Base period
Not applicable
1000 ha (land)
1000 m3 (timber)
Million national currency (EUR or other) - current prices
Calendar year
6.1. Institutional Mandate - legal acts and other agreements
No legal base, only gentlemen's agreement.
6.2. Institutional Mandate - data sharing
Not applicable
7.1. Confidentiality - policy
Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 on European statistics (recital 24 and Article 20(4)) of 11 March 2009 (OJ L 87, p. 164), stipulates the need to establish common principles and guidelines ensuring the confidentiality of data used for the production of European statistics and the access to those confidential data with due account for technical developments and the requirements of users in a democratic society.
7.2. Confidentiality - data treatment
Not applicable
8.1. Release calendar
For EFA: data released once per year, in December.
For FAO - FRA and Forest Europe: Eurostat re-publishes these data as they become available from sources providers.
8.2. Release calendar access
Not available
8.3. Release policy - user access
In line with the Community legal framework and the European Statistics Code of Practice Eurostat disseminates European statistics on it's website (see item 10 - 'Accessibility and clarity') respecting professional independence and in an objective, professional and transparent manner in which all users are treated equitably. The detailed arrangements are governed by the Eurostat protocol on impartial access to Eurostat data for users.
For EFA: annual
For FAO - FRA and Forest Europe: 5 yearly
10.1. Dissemination format - News release
Online news releases
10.2. Dissemination format - Publications
Until publication year 2020 (i.e. data reference year 2018) in Eurostat Statistical Book on Agriculture, forestry and fisheries statistics
Data validation is performed using a set of validation rules and pre-defined checks to assess internal and time-series consistency and external consistency with FAO - FRA and Forest Europe data.
Policy-makers including forest management policies; researchers.
12.2. Relevance - User Satisfaction
Not available
12.3. Completeness
EFA:
14 Member States and two EFTA countries regularly report data to Eurostat.
In addition, Eurostat gapfills EFA tables:
for_area_efa: variable 'closing stocks' of 'forest' with FAO - FRA data on forest area. (EFA and FAO - FRA use the same definition of forest area.)
for_vol_efa: variables 'opening stocks', 'annual increment', 'removals' and 'closing stocks' of 'forest' for all Member States with the exception of France for which 'forest available for wood supply' is gapfilled instead of 'forest'. This is done to align with the reporting of France - France only reports data for 'forest available for wood supply'. (This gapfillling is performed using the Carbon Budget Model, see section 3.1)
Gapfilled data are flagged with s) flag ('Eurostat's estimates') in respective online tables.
FAO - FRA: Eurostat republishes data for all EU Member States. Cyprus does not report data on forest resources to FAO. For France, Eurostat republishes only FAO - FRA values for mainland France, excluding data for overseas areas. This is done for consistency with EFA for which France only reports data for mainland France to Eurostat.
13.1. Accuracy - overall
Not available
13.2. Sampling error
Not available
13.3. Non-sampling error
Not available
14.1. Timeliness
EFA: 23 months after the end of the reference year.
FAO - FRA and Forest Europe: data are collected 2 years prior to the date of publication of the 5-yearly report.
14.2. Punctuality
Data collection and publication follows a data production calendar. Data submitted after the final deadline (late September) may be only processed during the following data collection (i.e. following year).
15.1. Comparability - geographical
Despite agreed definitions, countries may follow national definitions established in their respective National Forest Inventory. As a result, cross-country comparison still needs to be improved. In general, country data are better aligned with the common defintion for forest area, whereas for the volume of timber, greater deviations are known to exist.
Data for the same variable are in general well aligned among EFA, FRA and Forest Europe.
15.2. Comparability - over time
Good within the same country; breaks are indicated with footnote b).
15.3. Coherence - cross domain
not available
15.4. Coherence - internal
Internal coherence within the given questionnaire is good, assessed using pre-defined validation rules (see section 11.1).
For EFA: 6 person-months for Eurostat and on average 1-4 person-months for each data provider
17.1. Data revision - policy
The general Eurostat revision policy applies to this domain.
Revisions by country correspondents are encouraged.
17.2. Data revision - practice
All reported errors (once validated) result in corrections of the disseminated data. Reported errors that are deemed to be significant are corrected in the disseminated data as soon as the correct data have been validated.
Data are only published once they are deemed to be sufficiently complete for all data providers contributing to the aggregate.
New data are only used to update disseminated data if provided according to the provision schedule set by Eurostat.
All methodological issues are discussed at the meetings of Eurostat's Working group on Forestry statistics (WG), revisions are requested to align previously reported data with updated concepts and reporting practices, as agreed by the WG.
In general, countries revise data to align with the revision in national accounts or the cycles of national forest inventories.
18.1. Source data
EFA data collection is carried out by national statistical institutes and research institutes working on their behalf.
A comprehensive set of validation rules and pre-defined checks is used to validate EFA data to assure internal and time-series consistency, and consistency with FAO - FRA, Forest Europe and JFSQ data. Any internal inconsistencies found need to be corrected or justified and any plausibility issues need to be explained by the countries during the validation process before data can be published.
18.5. Data compilation
EFA data on the volume of timber are gapfilled using the Carbon Budget Model developed by the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission, see section 3.1 for details.
18.6. Adjustment
Not applicable
Not further comments
This metadata file covers data on forest resources from following sources:
European Forest Accounts (EFA): Eurostat's annual data collection on forest resources and economic activity in forestry and logging industry.
Forest Europe - State of Europe's Forests: 5 yearly data collection
Data covered by this metadata file are published in the following tables in Eurostat's public database:
Area of wooded land:
from EFA: table for_area_efa
from FAO - FRA: table for_area
Value of wooded land:
from EFA: table for_area_efa
Volume of timber:
from EFA: table for_vol_efa; in addition, this table has been gap-filled with modelled data using the Carbon Budget Model and official statistics reported to FAO (FAO FRA) and Eurostat (Joint Forest Sector Questionnaire) as input data, as described in this JRC technical report;
from FAO - FRA: table: for_vol
Value of timber:
from EFA: table for_vol_efa
Protective functions of forests:
from Forest Europe: for_profnc
Protected forests:
from Forest Europe: for_protect
The EFA questionnaire and its explanatory notes can be found on the methodological section of environmental statistics and accounts (under the 'Forest accounts' dropdown menu). In addition to data on forest area and the volume of timber, EFA also covers economic data on forestry and logging, output of the forestry industry by type, physical and monetary data on supply and use of wood, and employment data. These are explained in the metadata file for Economic aggregates of forestry.
22 December 2021
Forest accounts provide a detailed view of forest-related assets (land and timber).
Detailed information on the EFA concepts and definitions can be found in EFA explanatory notes.
Data on the area of wooded land and the volumne of timber are collected and presented at national level.
Area of wooded land, both physical and monetary
Timber output by type of wooded land, both physical and monetary
Protective functions of forests, by area
Protected forests, by area
EU Member States, EFTA countries, the UK, candidate countries.
Data for France cover only mainland France without the overseas territories and dominions French Guyana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Réunion or Mayotte.
Calendar year
Not available
1000 ha (land)
1000 m3 (timber)
Million national currency (EUR or other) - current prices
EFA data on the volume of timber are gapfilled using the Carbon Budget Model developed by the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission, see section 3.1 for details.
EFA data collection is carried out by national statistical institutes and research institutes working on their behalf.
For EFA: annual
For FAO - FRA and Forest Europe: 5 yearly
EFA: 23 months after the end of the reference year.
FAO - FRA and Forest Europe: data are collected 2 years prior to the date of publication of the 5-yearly report.
Despite agreed definitions, countries may follow national definitions established in their respective National Forest Inventory. As a result, cross-country comparison still needs to be improved. In general, country data are better aligned with the common defintion for forest area, whereas for the volume of timber, greater deviations are known to exist.
Data for the same variable are in general well aligned among EFA, FRA and Forest Europe.
Good within the same country; breaks are indicated with footnote b).
