The economic contributions of forests in Eastern African countries have not received the desired attention in terms of policy and budgetary allocation needed for sustained growth of these forests. This, among other reasons, has led to the reduction of forest zones and an increase in the import of forest-related products, resulting in dwindling foreign currency reserves. Although public awareness and positive public outcry have increased over the years, there is a growing tendency to utilize the environmental services of forests with little concern over their economic significance. In order to gain a better understanding of forestry’s contribution to national gross domestic product (GDP) in the East African Subregion, the FAO Sub-regional Office for Eastern Africa commissioned the Ethiopian Forestry Society, the Forestry Society of Kenya and the Uganda Forestry Association to undertake economic studies of existing forested areas in their respective countries. The commissioned institutions carried out a study on their country’s forestry sector and its economic and trade benefits, the status of the legal and institutional framework governing the utilization of forest and non-forest products, the import and export of forest-related products, as well as the national economic costs of forests. These institutions also conducted national workshops in order to have their study findings discussed and validated by national stakeholders, which served to augment their reports with policy recommendations on how to improve the valuation of forests in the national economy and on the trade balance. This paper attempts to showcase the economic contributions of forests in Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda in order to illustrate the multiple benefits derived from forests and the potential contribution of forests to national economies and GDP.