Country comparison
Chile vs China
Averaged across every city Airleaf has measured in each country — 31 in Chile and 638 in China — 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.
China averages more tree cover — 34.5% against 22.8%.
Chile averages cleaner air — AQI 43 against 86.
- Tree cover gap
- 11.7 points
- China is ahead.
- Air quality gap
- 43 AQI
- Chile is cleaner.
- Cities behind it
- 31 vs 638
- How much each average rests on.
Average tree cover
Mean across measured cities, each over the same 2 km radius.
22.8%
34.5%
Average air quality index
US EPA index. Lower is better.
43
86
Cities measured
How much each average rests on.
31
638
Trees still needed
Summed across measured cities, to reach their canopy targets. Fewer is better.
999K
10.2M
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 — 31 in Chile and 638 in China — 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. China rests on 638 cities against 31, so its average is the steadier of the two. Both firm up as coverage grows.
Frequently asked
Chile and China, answered
Which country has more tree cover, Chile or China?
China, averaging 34.5% across its measured cities against 22.8% — a gap of 11.7 percentage points.
Which has cleaner air, Chile or China?
Chile, averaging AQI 43 against 86 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?
31 measured cities in Chile and 638 in China. 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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