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Airleaf

Country comparison

Canada vs Spain

Averaged across every city Airleaf has measured in each country — 59 in Canada and 57 in Spain — each read the same way: Sentinel-2 imagery at 10 m detail over a 2 km radius, and the live US EPA air quality index.

Canada averages more tree cover — 48.7% against 18.6%.

Canada averages cleaner air — AQI 25 against 39.

Tree cover gap
30.1 points
Canada is ahead.
Air quality gap
14 AQI
Canada is cleaner.
Cities behind it
59 vs 57
How much each average rests on.
Canada

59 cities measured

Spain

57 cities measured

Average tree cover

Mean across measured cities, each over the same 2 km radius.

48.7%

18.6%

Average air quality index

US EPA index. Lower is better.

25

39

Cities measured

How much each average rests on.

59

57

Trees standing

Summed across every measured city in each country.

8.4M

3.1M

Cities below their target

Share of measured cities short of the canopy target. Lower is better.

7% (4)

86% (49)

Trees still needed

Summed across measured cities, to reach their canopy targets. Fewer is better.

56.5K

2.1M

Behind the averages

The extremes in each country

An average says nothing about how far apart the best and worst places are. These are the measured cities at each end.

Canada

Greenest measured city
Saint-Louis-de-Terrebonne84.3% tree cover
Worst air right now
KelownaAQI 42

Spain

Greenest measured city
Girona50.4% tree cover
Worst air right now
SalamancaAQI 66

Reading these numbers

What a country average is, and is not

It is a mean of cities

Not a national statistic. Each figure is the average across the cities Airleaf has measured in that country — 59 in Canada and 57 in Spain — each read over the same 2 km radius. Rural land, forest and everywhere unmeasured are not in it, so this compares urban areas rather than territories.

Coverage shapes the number

A country measured mostly in its capital reads differently from one measured across dozens of towns. Canada rests on 59 cities against 57, so its average is the steadier of the two. Both firm up as coverage grows.

Frequently asked

Canada and Spain, answered

Which country has more tree cover, Canada or Spain?

Canada, averaging 48.7% across its measured cities against 18.6% — a gap of 30.1 percentage points.

Which has cleaner air, Canada or Spain?

Canada, averaging AQI 25 against 39 on the US EPA index. These are live readings averaged across cities, so the gap moves with the weather.

How many cities is each figure based on?

59 measured cities in Canada and 57 in Spain. Every one was read the same way, so the two averages are directly comparable — but a country with more measured cities has the more settled figure.

Is this the whole country?

No. It is the cities Airleaf has measured, each over a 2 km radius from its centre. Forest, farmland and unmeasured towns are not included, so treat this as a comparison of urban tree cover and urban air rather than of national land cover.

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