Tropical forest loss over the past decade by country


By Rhett Butler   |  Last updated January 11, 2016

Deforestation data can be highly contentious due to variances in how forest cover is measured, how deforestation is defined, and whether or not forest regrowth and plantations are incorporated. Here are two estimates on forest loss from different sources.

Gross forest loss

This table below show gross forest loss from a data set developed by researchers led by the University of Maryland's Matthew Hansen. Gross forest loss includes all sources of forest loss from clearing of natural forest to cyclical harvesting of plantations. For that reason, "forest loss" may not accurately reflect deforestation in countries with high plantation cover. For example, roughly 25 percent of Vietnam's tree cover is plantations, meaning that harvesting of industrial timber plantations shows up as "forest loss".

Country30% forest coverPercent forest cover5-year Forest loss (2010-2014)Loss as % of 2009 cover10-year Forest loss 2005-2014Loss as % of 2004 cover5-yr vs 10-yr changeLoss 2001-2014
Cambodia8,810,80049.60%939,46711.50%1,366,81715.90%37.50%1,586,252
Malaysia29,415,65089.90%2,347,5539.00%4,452,51715.80%5.40%5,632,714
Paraguay24,296,59161.30%2,033,9279.30%3,600,57615.40%13.00%4,460,595
Benin168,5051.50%6,5374.60%19,99312.70%-34.60%31,382
Gambia4,5920.40%1202.90%50011.20%-51.90%622
Nicaragua7,776,95065.60%394,6235.40%754,0619.90%4.70%920,393
Guatemala7,693,75371.30%288,1064.10%732,1719.90%-21.30%995,707
Madagascar17,140,68829.10%1,015,8256.30%1,629,1069.70%24.70%1,971,473
Indonesia160,978,09685.80%7,718,1135.10%15,069,6539.60%2.40%18,507,771
Cote d'Ivoire14,872,64446.60%758,2385.40%1,248,6348.60%21.50%1,650,236
Sierra Leone5,617,47778.00%342,6506.30%451,3988.10%51.80%498,424
Vietnam16,577,66151.30%782,9244.90%1,290,4847.90%21.30%1,504,547
Zimbabwe1,414,1603.70%47,2973.60%108,0667.80%-12.50%140,022
Laos19,118,74383.90%842,1104.60%1,392,1127.40%21.00%1,635,813
Belize1,748,54480.90%78,5494.70%121,6667.10%29.10%154,508
Ghana6,955,60929.90%267,1084.00%451,8656.70%18.20%616,484
Liberia9,384,70498.20%394,3344.30%597,4696.40%32.00%711,477
Dominican Republic2,576,58553.90%67,8302.80%157,9716.30%-14.10%209,756
Guinea-Bissau1,068,75432.30%43,6964.20%66,8906.30%30.70%79,883
Mozambique28,907,58737.30%810,6922.90%1,694,0335.90%-4.30%2,048,679
Honduras7,740,00769.40%219,2023.00%438,5305.80%0.00%572,519
Malawi1,521,89516.20%50,8333.50%87,0905.80%16.70%106,593
Kenya3,317,3835.80%84,0492.70%180,4565.60%-6.80%250,306
Tanzania26,423,10329.80%774,3013.00%1,380,6995.30%12.20%1,699,305
Thailand19,962,44339.40%530,9972.80%1,020,5675.20%4.10%1,267,835
Guinea8,159,12833.50%300,7603.80%409,3345.10%47.00%483,224
Brazil519,191,66461.90%11,738,6372.40%24,986,0284.90%-6.00%38,336,733
Uganda7,768,51037.80%214,8972.80%369,3834.80%16.40%439,968
Senegal39,9370.20%1,0412.70%1,7734.50%17.50%2,176
Barbados5,23712.10%1593.10%2324.50%37.60%267
Chad409,4370.30%8,7392.20%17,6064.30%-0.70%21,048
Bolivia64,520,86260.00%1,455,8352.30%2,707,9714.20%7.50%3,394,108
Myanmar42,859,26064.60%1,038,3852.50%1,739,7824.10%19.40%2,030,101
Panama5,699,91976.80%80,1501.50%224,3584.00%-28.60%289,942
Togo558,9929.80%8,4621.60%22,1434.00%-23.60%31,755
Montserrat4,58945.90%1192.60%1783.90%33.80%197
Singapore18,76829.40%2761.50%7013.80%-21.40%922
Mexico53,182,95227.40%878,0171.70%1,948,1253.70%-9.90%2,587,661
Zambia24,088,37432.70%542,4442.30%878,2723.70%23.50%1,025,306
Jamaica768,47170.10%11,0021.50%28,2323.70%-22.10%36,057
El Salvador988,93448.90%12,5231.30%33,6003.50%-25.50%58,305
Nigeria10,030,68611.10%218,4672.20%335,2523.40%30.30%439,032
Costa Rica3,912,90776.80%50,8181.30%133,2283.40%-23.70%180,006
Trinidad and Tobago391,86976.40%6,6031.70%13,3433.40%-1.00%17,359
Philippines18,600,33563.60%336,6661.90%609,9673.30%10.40%761,175
Mauritius71,27738.40%1,4142.00%2,2933.30%23.30%3,052
Turks and Caicos Islands10,84512.40%940.90%3613.30%-47.90%395
Democratic Republic of the Congo199,224,29587.10%3,891,7402.00%6,332,6193.20%22.90%7,977,010
Bahamas303,56625.80%3,4551.20%9,2993.10%-25.70%11,296
Rwanda496,55320.80%9,2531.90%14,7283.00%25.70%19,357
Haiti857,98931.90%15,1001.80%25,0292.90%20.70%33,070
Brunei527,81392.20%8,0451.60%15,3702.90%4.70%19,700
Cuba4,013,55736.80%45,3551.20%111,7122.80%-18.80%174,221
Bangladesh1,959,60115.10%29,5291.50%54,0262.80%9.30%69,122
Solomon Islands2,736,45898.00%42,2021.60%73,6662.70%14.60%85,617
Angola55,315,47444.40%868,2411.60%1,453,8542.60%19.40%1,740,011
Comoros134,78981.90%3,2242.40%3,5492.60%81.70%3,694
Colombia81,779,08372.60%918,3791.10%2,035,0002.50%-9.70%2,822,694
Ecuador19,064,82075.00%225,1811.20%472,0682.50%-4.60%598,816
Sri Lanka3,940,05860.50%53,8191.40%96,9482.50%11.00%112,884
Burundi538,38921.60%6,7001.30%12,7742.40%4.90%17,120
Martinique74,64067.50%8241.10%1,7532.40%-6.00%2,450
Grenada28,57280.90%3461.30%6512.30%6.30%1,452
Equatorial Guinea2,659,05699.10%41,7821.60%58,3332.20%43.30%67,303
Peru78,069,51660.90%935,9811.20%1,608,2222.10%16.40%1,949,886
India38,813,95312.40%428,0471.10%796,8132.10%7.40%1,034,010
East Timor726,03248.70%5,8770.80%15,1402.10%-22.40%20,174
US Virgin Islands19,00954.40%1460.80%3912.10%-25.50%608
Ethiopia12,040,79210.70%136,3781.10%243,2482.00%12.10%295,611
Antigua and Barbuda19,32846.10%1220.60%3882.00%-37.30%473
Puerto Rico523,66558.80%3,8860.80%9,6221.90%-19.20%14,561
Venezuela56,531,45062.80%426,4540.80%984,2401.80%-13.30%1,376,709
Cameroon31,467,69268.00%362,3831.20%540,6991.70%34.00%657,057
Cayman Islands13,44851.50%1150.90%2221.70%3.30%302
Guadeloupe94,72958.00%8480.90%1,5441.60%9.80%2,184
Anguilla2,12127.10%50.20%311.50%-67.40%45
Papua New Guinea42,940,88893.40%335,4080.80%600,2981.40%11.70%781,082
Fiji1,582,74786.80%9,9590.60%19,8251.30%0.50%25,279
Republic of Congo26,386,12077.90%218,6720.80%325,8641.20%34.20%409,526
Saint Lucia50,73384.00%3060.60%6171.20%-1.00%719
Saint Kitts and Nevis13,25650.70%500.40%1591.20%-36.40%281
Micronesia6,17769.50%771.20%771.20%100.00%77
Palau41,16390.20%2060.50%4701.10%-12.20%645
Central African Republic47,070,87076.00%248,2240.50%452,8791.00%9.60%546,921
Gabon24,698,65994.40%132,4910.50%221,6310.90%19.60%277,413
New Caledonia1,440,56677.00%6,2110.40%12,2900.90%1.10%16,009
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines29,14675.20%1450.50%2670.90%8.60%313
Dominica70,92294.60%3150.40%6010.80%5.00%742
Cape Verde7,3531.90%400.60%600.80%33.00%100
Maldives5,80126.50%230.40%490.80%-4.50%63
Curacao5,26212.30%170.30%360.70%-3.60%39
Suriname13,949,66396.60%55,1020.40%80,5170.60%36.90%97,893
Nepal5,160,83435.00%12,0870.20%30,0810.60%-19.60%38,505
British Virgin Islands7,45348.70%230.30%480.60%-2.90%60
French Guiana8,162,64798.90%22,2310.30%39,0200.50%13.90%51,244
Guyana18,995,49191.00%46,7750.20%81,5180.40%14.80%107,866
Bhutan2,580,57164.60%7,6940.30%11,5580.40%33.10%13,643
Vanuatu1,182,55198.00%2,8040.20%4,6890.40%19.60%5,830
Seychelles6,20436.10%40.10%40.10%78.90%5
Sao Tome and Principe14,20788.50%00.00%00.00%077


U.N. forest loss


The table below contains data from the U.N. FAO 2015 Forest Resources Assessment. Unlike the table above, units are 1,000 hectares.

Forest/land areaForest areaChange 2010-2015Change 2005-2015
UN Forest Cover201519902000200520102015Loss/GainLoss/GainLoss/GainLoss/Gain5-yr vs 10-yr changeChange 1990-2015
Country%(1000 ha)(1000 ha)(1000 ha)(1000 ha)(1000 ha)(1000 ha)% of 2010 cover(1000 ha)% of 2005 cover%(1000 ha)
Togo 3.5685486386287188-99-34.5%-198-51.3%0%-497
Uganda 10.447513869342927532077-676-24.6%-1352-39.4%0%-2674
Nigeria 7.717234131371108990416993-2048-22.7%-4096-36.9%0%-10241
Honduras 4181366392579251924592-600-11.6%-1200-20.7%0%-3544
Zimbabwe36.42216418894172591562414062-1562-10.0%-3197-18.5%-2%-8102
Paraguay 38.62115719368184751695015323-1627-9.6%-3152-17.1%3%-5834
Mauritania0.2415317267242225-17-7.0%-42-15.7%-19%-190
Mali3.966905900550551104715-395-7.7%-790-14.4%0%-1975
El Salvador 12.8377332309287265-22-7.7%-44-14.2%0%-112
Timor-Leste46.1966854798742686-56-7.5%-112-14.0%0%-280
Myanmar44.23921834868333213177329041-2732-8.6%-4280-12.8%28%-10177
Cambodia53.6129441154610731100949457-637-6.3%-1274-11.9%0%-3487
Comoros19.94945423937-2-5.1%-5-11.9%-20%-12
Somalia10.182827515713167476363-384-5.7%-768-10.8%0%-1919
Benin3957615061481145614311-250-5.5%-500-10.4%0%-1450
Burkina Faso 19.668476248594956495350-299-5.3%-599-10.1%0%-1497
Guatemala3347484208393837223540-182-4.9%-398-10.1%-9%-1208
Nicaragua 25.94514381434643114311400.0%-350-10.1%-100%-1400
Niger0.919451328126612041142-62-5.1%-124-9.8%0%-803
Sudan 10.32357021826209542008219210-872-4.3%-1744-8.3%0%-4360
Tanzania525592051920499204792046060-1860-3.9%-3860-7.7%-4%-9860
Haiti3.511610910510197-4-4.0%-8-7.6%0%-19
Malawi33.438963567340232373147-90-2.8%-255-7.5%-29%-749
Indonesia5311854599409978579443291010-3422-3.6%-6847-7.0%0%-27535
Equatorial Guinea55.918601743168516261568-58-3.6%-117-6.9%-1%-292
Bolivia50.66279560091587345620954764-1445-2.6%-3970-6.8%-27%-8031
Liberia 43.449294629447943294179-150-3.5%-300-6.7%0%-750
Dominica57.85047464543-2-4.4%-3-6.5%33%-7
Ecuador 50.51463113729133351294212548-394-3.0%-787-5.9%0%-2083
Guinea25.972646904672465446364-180-2.8%-360-5.4%0%-900
Mozambique 48.24337841188400793897237940-1032-2.6%-2139-5.3%-4%-5438
Guinea-Bissau 70.122162120207220221972-50-2.5%-100-4.8%0%-244
Saint Lucia33.32221212120-1-4.8%-1-4.8%100%-2
Senegal4393488898867384738273-200-2.4%-400-4.6%0%-1075
Ethiopia11.415114137051300012296124992031.7%-501-3.9%-181%-2615
Belize 59.916161459141713911366-25-1.8%-51-3.6%-2%-250
Sao Tome and Principe55.8565656545400.0%-2-3.6%-100%-2
Panama 62.150404867478246994617-82-1.7%-165-3.5%-1%-423
Zambia65.45280051134503014946848635-833-1.7%-1666-3.3%0%-4165
Colombia 52.76441761798602015863558502-133-0.2%-1699-2.8%-84%-5915
Madagascar21.41369213023128381255312473-80-0.6%-365-2.8%-56%-1219
Guadeloupe42.57373737271-1-1.4%-2-2.7%0%-2
Brazil 59546705521274506734498458493538-4920-1.0%-13196-2.6%-25%-53167
Solomon Islands 78.123242268224122132185-28-1.3%-56-2.5%0%-139
Sri Lanka3322842192211821032070-33-1.6%-48-2.3%38%-214
Brunei Darussalam 72.141339738938038000.0%-9-2.3%-100%-33
Venezuela52.95202649151477134750546683-822-1.7%-1030-2.2%60%-5343
Peru 57.87792176147755287481173973-838-1.1%-1555-2.1%8%-3948
Angola 46.46097659728591045848057856-624-1.1%-1248-2.1%0%-3120
Democratic Republic of the Congo67.3160363157249155692154135152578-1557-1.0%-3114-2.0%0%-7785
Bangladesh 1114941468145514421429-13-0.9%-26-1.8%0%-65
Mexico 346976067856670836649866040-458-0.7%-1043-1.6%-12%-3720
Jamaica 31345341339337335-2-0.6%-4-1.2%0%-10
Central African Republic 35.62256022404223262224822170-78-0.4%-156-0.7%0%-390
Congo 65.42272622556224712241122334-77-0.3%-137-0.6%12%-392
Guyana 841666016622166021657616526-50-0.3%-76-0.5%32%-134
French Guiana98.682188182816881388130-8-0.1%-38-0.5%-58%-88
Suriname 95.41543015391153711535115332-19-0.1%-39-0.3%-3%-98
Papua New Guinea 72.53362733600335863357333559-140.0%-27-0.1%4%-68
Côte d’Ivoire 32.71022210328104051040310401-20.0%-40.0%0%179
Nepal 25.44817390036363636363600.0%00.0%-1181
New Caledonia 45.983983983983983900.0%00.0%0
Bahamas51.451551551551551500.0%00.0%0
Martinique45.8494949494900.0%00.0%0
Seychelles88.4414141414100.0%00.0%0
Singapore23.4161616161600.0%00.0%0
Cook Islands64141515151500.0%00.0%1
Samoa60.413017117117117100.0%00.0%41
Trinidad and Tobago 45.724123423022623483.5%41.7%300%-7
Thailand 32.114005170111610016249163991500.9%2991.9%0%2394
Fiji55.79539809979931017242.4%202.0%140%64
Ghana41862789099053919593371421.5%2843.1%0%710
Réunion35.2878785888800.0%33.5%-100%1
Gambia 48.844246147148048881.7%173.6%-6%46
Bhutan 72.325072606265627052755501.8%993.7%1%248
India23.863939653906770969790706828921.3%29734.4%-40%6743
Gabon89.3220002200022000220002300010004.5%10004.5%100%1000
Malaysia 67.62237621591208902212422195710.3%13056.2%-89%-181
Puerto Rico 57.9287450463479496173.5%337.1%3%209
Sierra Leone 42.53118292228242726304431811.7%2207.8%189%-74
Kenya 7.8472435574047423044131834.3%3669.0%0%-311
Costa Rica54256423762491260527561515.8%26510.6%14%192
Laos81.317645165261687017816187619455.3%189111.2%0%1116
Viet Nam 47.69363117271307714128147736454.6%169613.0%-24%5410
Philippines 2765557027707468408040120017.5%96613.7%148%1485
Cuba30.1205824352697293232002689.1%50318.7%7%1142
French Polynesia 42.35510513015515500.0%2519.2%-100%100
Dominican Republic 41110514861652181719831669.1%33120.0%0%878
Rwanda 19.5318344385446480347.6%9524.7%-28%162
Burundi 10.7289198181253276239.1%9552.5%-52%-13