It’s never been more important to plant trees. In 2021, more than 1.8 billion trees were planted worldwide. A new report from GoTreeQuotes finds that this still isn’t enough to keep up with the number of trees being cut down each year. 

It’s believed more than 15 billion trees are cut down each year. Climate ecologists say that at least 1.2 trillion trees need to be planted each year to keep pace with what is being cut down and ensure there are enough trees to counteract climate change into the future. 

Nearly 5 million trees are planted each day. This works out to 3,611 trees per minute, or approximately 60 trees per second.

Data from GoTreeQuotes notes that there are just over 3 trillion trees in the world. This works out to approximately 422 trees per person. Prior to humans, however, there are believed to have been 6 trillion trees on earth indicating a decline of more than 50 percent since humans arrived. 

The United Nations Environmental Program plants nearly 2 billion trees each year, however, the world has space for up to 600 billion mature trees. 

Deforestation and wildfires are the main reason for declining tree numbers around the world. 

China remains at the top of the list of countries working to replenish lost trees, averaging 2.5 billion trees planted in 2021. The country is working toward an increase in planting to 36,000 square kilometers of trees each year until 2025. This is in an effort to reach their net-zero carbon emissions goal by 2060.

Reforestation programs have also been started by countries like India, Ethiopia, Pakistan, Mexico, Turkey, Peru, Nigeria, Kenya, and the U.S. The U.S. sits in the 10th spot overall for the number of trees planted in the past few years.