More than half of Europe's forests, not including Russia and other CIS countries, are owned privately. Private forest owners play a key role in sustaining forest ecosystems, enhancing rural development and supplying resources to markets. Nevertheless, a significant lack of knowledge on private forest ownership in Europe remains. This study paper presents the main findings from the national country reports of 23 countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. It draws conclusions on the state of private forestry in Europe in terms of ownership distribution, holding structure, socioeconomic findings and trends, with regard to restitution/privatization, changes of ownership patterns and association of private forest owners.--Publisher description