Methodology, Accuracy Assessment and Comparison

This report presents the third version of the Global map of Forest Cover for the year 2020 at 10 m spatial resolution (GFC2020 V3, dated 28 November 2025) and the first version of the Global map of Forest Types for the year 2020 (GFT2020 V1, dated 15 January 2026). These maps are based on the combination of several global land cover / land use data sets and provide spatially explicit representations of forest presence and absence (GFC2020) and main forest types (GFT2020). The report presents input datasets, mapping methodology and a comparison with other global sources of information. For GFC2020 we also present an accuracy assessment of this new map version and a comparison with the previous version. Results show an improved accuracy and very good match with the global forest area estimate for year 2020 of the latest report of the Global Forest Resources Assessment by the Food and Agriculture Organization. GFC2020 and GFT2020 can support the implementation of the EU Regulation on Deforestation-free supply chains (Regulation (EU) 2023/1115), notably in the phase of risk assessment, but their use is not mandatory, not exclusive and not legally binding. The primary access to this map is via the EU Observatory on Deforestation and Forest Degradation.

BOURGOIN Clement;  VERHEGGHEN Astrid;  AMEZTOY Iban;  BEUCHLE Rene;  CARBONI Silvia;  CARREIRAS Joao;  LESIV Myroslava;  LUPI Andrea;  MARINELLI Daniele;  RICHTER Jessica;  SIMONETTI Dario;  TURUBANOVA Svetlana;  ACHARD Frederic;  COLDITZ Rene; 

2026-05-08

Publications Office of the European Union

JRC146622

978-92-68-39780-0 (online),   

1831-9424 (online),   

EUR 40716,    OP KJ-01-26-198-EN-N (online),   

https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC146622,   

10.2760/9982436 (online),