STATISTICS: ALL FORESTS

TROPICAL FORESTS

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. For example, different bodies use different definitions of forest cover and deforestation. Some may refer to "gross forest loss", which looks at total loss of tree cover whether or not it is offset by forest gain in the form of secondary forest recovery, reforestation, or afforestation. Others may consider only "net forest loss", whereby deforestation is offset by forest gain. For this reason, consistent data sources are important to tracking forest loss over time. For example, 1990s data from the U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and 2000s data from the University of Maryland are not directly comparable. If one wants to compare the 1990s deforestation rate with the 2000s deforestation rate, a single source should be used. And even in that case, it is critical to look at the methodology used between the time periods — FAO data is not always comparable over long time frames due to changes in various definitions.

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". Primary forest data

AreaTree coverTree coverTree coverTree cover% loss ofavgbiomasscarbon
30% tree coverAreaextentextentextentloss2010 extentbiomassbiomassloss (Mt)emissions (Mt)
contryUnits: ha2000201020182010-20182010-2018metric tons (Mt)Mt/ha2001-20182001-2018
Afghanistan6448282020627671948717781700.2%26467061128230826423225
Albania2882414650720590849575638152112.6%87454693134615215611278957
Algeria231082593123542982942172750310191812.3%1392805771131741448431926455
Andorra45596191411909619064320.2%33355841741417825999
Angola12486051755341830538960515223485116612003.1%6135847940111338774386621086336
Anguilla851821261391138650.4%1505897134226272
Antigua and Barbuda443421940220064197003641.8%206006410686060157794
Argentina27830981239132927384267263601170924150176.3%308205602079432648332793188532
Armenia29737173373432493492488165330.2%42686110127285418523280
Australia76934492442365932395633013757776719855345.0%5387018593127453002734830504967
Austria84101104347787436081742438651169522.7%77131770217757163103104799021
Azerbaijan864481212715541084820108339714230.1%1469161401168599331576507
Bahamas1356982303654344289331981123083.6%211319887015660522871083
Bangladesh139851901942807222110521118041093014.9%3461466461783130236857387668
Barbados440185297643162331983.1%7213271364776887572
Belarus207503659139900950874090705384382024.6%92910077010195117559174382214
Belgium3076014866998891878856921349573.9%1622434011871787631432773250
Belize22043051750192175332616220891312377.5%3306509071893821022270052078
Benin11563620168931436526423635128913.0%2061341712245010368251891
Bermuda717060978978720.3%631041037491373
Bhutan389858125907652521994251248495100.4%76335407929550186109200771
Bolivia10843982764569139627603446031591724444273.9%115565271011798376629551535715394
Bonaire32648243237373718190.5%317438131886216250
Bosnia and Herzegovina5115370266259625843512569643147080.6%46145216817350180279199709
Botswana578219582036745974527701.5%1255772613380561971
Brazil851849027520074678499062352474468720245936324.9%1.18E+11228999944245318332311082
British Virgin Islands175377467718669302563.6%11775681575245396163
Brunei Darussalam581253532025531467517705137622.6%169936991320726415713317635
Bulgaria11200370415526339731093917075560341.4%5343019791291665844030540513
Burkina Faso2737723913222432228150.7%138081041369325112
Burundi2711445541896557534544479130552.3%536926239931030725688964
Cambodia18187021883062276602956371521128877416.8%1974956732224499548289915838544
Cameroon466540953148991530573109297232468498632.8%7324167331233258513795473941949
Canada984104684418232032421570143401886696196834474.7%281490709506732031840545872504103
Cayman Islands284711348014389141282611.8%1292275964226077479
Central African Republic620720664711207947279462468873643920980.8%6775943275144132995757243825539
Chad127069796410220623014594228287864.6%4482638610945886168412456
Chile7590012519301634208127671980420810085594.8%2415639696125252283661462520043
China93882789316289498315457934014997521246041283.0%2231723057613716577783463039260338
Colombia11391980781961213818997037992812319715802.4%195512464262388724794001599545399
Comoros16814613480713217112763745343.4%269525412009344111713089
Congo342080052641313626661655261844604771951.8%6536384876248147924702271195282
Costa Rica5136412392444238813143789989913252.4%7784066171984464069081841280
Cote d'Ivoire32200529148873231396749812167118180038012.9%1885768687127398587147730743069
Croatia5752340244743423637952325971378241.6%3715160821521179644521626911
Cuba111251994025055425103040393902116405.0%4638624861154640022285067089
Curacao44159526245734551220.5%3892957436546702
Cyprus57356289914919009062212781.4%9187357102263866483750
Czech Republic79026733088875323459230801781544144.8%5100020661655416303999298913
DR Congo23312865619945458919862585319014880284770514.3%4304343581721629949392835490721989
Denmark4334062665997723310693552297584.1%6127839192826269915148273
Dominica761297134271120467012441934.3%16834705236612984111238039
Dominican Republic48335382588093246587223269911388815.6%3725602341444538918183213464
Ecuador257011501907924319279664188980113816532.0%4654516731244190882277349950866
Egypt984596431552351441851432569290.6%1205078978146048267778
El Salvador2063521999338931791905853259382.8%1580319171581194711121903069
Equatorial Guinea2703305266091326366052560482761232.9%7270248202732663918348838510
Estonia45773672657752274461125173122272998.3%223539350843943670572300702
Ethiopia1130393111205169612372736121676802050561.7%181080146315065710491120469194
Falkland Islands (Malvinas)12497482202169111691100.0%1764818000
Fiji1818450156110914230111400149228621.6%340583532218887904716278263
Finland3372936921645453228355452116018616753597.3%131664318661258748129474371568
France550295611680698716862362164192414431212.6%2958211350176184272420337832784
French Guiana8342251817351681686268131994366320.4%29334125853592166078039711440
Gabon264844162471545724724452244723272521251.0%665203000626995996290175993179
Gambia10725424585389737701273.3%3848248457873106107
Georgia700107231515152996533299409124420.1%51521949016316635623049871
Germany359086911258690212842911126200102229011.7%2202942549175127380943233531796
Ghana2387869769720407050775633132971944610.2%959501549138159096530291676966
Gibraltar75212111411400.0%120451004379
Greece13288804367566936233553568264550911.5%3957450811081825916933475134
Grenada365482872927760273673931.4%6037362210381027698544
Guadeloupe1670249556010254910151210371.0%18633023195392344719283
Guatemala109615617722448706172764350236267048.9%1277571421166238346002436967758
Guernsey919415481986198600.0%1927841255561018
Guinea24512516816891680329576908265112469214.0%1053902703129167176363306490013
Guinea-Bissau34029101071797112874810276171011319.0%1252823801171708291031318672
Guyana210090721902201019078398189666021117960.6%56886843862994887478889603765
Haiti2722576861280795099751073440265.5%116393544135958271017568303
Honduras112773547770738758419269676486165448.1%1264999034163182995768335492334
Hong Kong1151826258663488631143740.6%1075168417293736171855
Hungary9336372199918220009161903612973044.9%2480959181242750828050431898
India31579718938887201344841833346627510179083.0%8885993915228352196686645693950
Indonesia189408945160850864157998604144460837135377678.6%43184602852268572641827410498433513
Iran, Islamic Republic of1623251711734580137315313721929610.1%182139984105386007707675
Iraq44581425175492753027514160.1%1692442961470426958
Ireland705376084287015026691454809478603.2%1302165331542091084838336559
Isle of Man587771339316255160971581.0%17289491295167594738
Israel221898329519291222758415385.3%277600894240969441791
Italy301285299334106945253392721771803561.9%11969837481283628048066514246
Jamaica1103583770116756747738242185052.4%151364256197896998716444967
Japan374425162650154726369542260511763183661.2%4478656558169117791610215951254
Jersey12868159117861775110.6%20676913048238841
Jordan892335222832779277810.0%208345916281155
Kazakhstan273275761424619445335094517866156430.3%446790289105681898212501466
Kenya587073563332315334845332111181373354.1%47043951114156658512103873963
Korea, North12313798520978150095584932733768251.5%5362319601032296299042098757
Korea, South100700585383713512171149883241333872.6%5945047411102675632949053267
Kyrgyzstan198927876756035784435781303130.1%71227909106267994491324
Laos23046616191666421797680715928697204811011.4%44070551922306305397811155989598
Latvia64825393560230369770833883943093148.4%3363507809471862319131747586
Lebanon102948765664581545653416202.8%6543484100387246709972
Lesotho306210060841061810560580.5%59240597959617593
Liberia9613938940499193035348111917119161712.8%1672633861178254263940466150542
Libya1616602096836452844141142.5%584816852321042546
Liechtenstein16695934091689142260.3%15265251631866534204
Lithuania65155462342016241545822589771564816.5%2374749901013567200365398647
Luxembourg25956610203910419310078534083.3%2101431820615224192791103
Macao360441643642881.8%26211833
Macedonia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of2492809784679617161604084130772.1%109049802139555727610188311
Madagascar59199072171550991645002413879398257062615.6%29707218021736587745461207753323
Malawi118472091527272147661513715571050587.1%2004743541312460831745115278
Malaysia32996392294666632866750924653157401435214.0%782961355126618462394343384772232
Maldives31296558127942774200.7%151816279551752
Mali12517659125144492664730219644.0%3022544121409499750725
Malta3344513411811710.8%1364110314702689
Martinique1136207553678149771579921.3%15172707200522746958376
Mauritius19293871874897948839813961.6%135438651895773271058428
Mayotte4000533957338283198618425.4%6871729202409194750195
Mexico19557956753302350504677634867494517928183.6%6291673889118486981202892798931
Micronesia1053661816212621200.0%16033662592072037987
Moldova340146335770536016535434658191.6%33671798948009331468373
Mongolia156741930409464835562543471105851492.4%341328566833949876072414417
Montenegro133753361810758170657185998471.7%10444492216926683644892040
Montserrat10205461644494426230.5%8972491954668985590
Morocco41387146649326406254391195150593.7%7648184411840340777395795
Mozambique7880257228942387269968972537837416185236.0%3677518710127414030532759055972
Myanmar6701518242900884409553923873693522184575.4%104405159732447237397891326856260
Namibia82459014385369558311216.1%29973778103187189174
Nepal14783624516543248058184790296155220.3%13661474592651128708920692983
Netherlands379817759816871707570873083451.2%8096001713535587826524441
New Caledonia1891950144387114011241389180119440.9%25290413117534614456345972
New Zealand267644781127126911449663108645405851235.1%1992554810177209486117384057832
Nicaragua128559987794710763965269807966588568.6%1428522054183295499159541748404
Nigeria910563111007758810966046103595296065175.5%1402698585139109738753201187712
Norway326259541177074613088492127389473495452.7%9484173038157165523104803464
Pakistan8747791097946664875564768910660.2%16987530617315582672856832
Palau503224166540937407591780.4%11944456287199512365749
Palestine, State of62434762386586140.5%583179318513393
Panama75468875717306556246554071391553262.8%126271817922180287050147192961
Papua New Guinea464385364296316142962396420788758835212.1%13577649342316401624094736310808
Paraguay40026495243303112048279817631021285177713.9%185456944776448905068822992659
Peru12944121578145162788395137711013717293762.2%223356662382867482576781371805769
Philippines297870121868624318478534178422596362753.4%4161307178223258864425474584738
Poland313508641049131310687199101601765270234.9%1263027618121131953380241914604
Portugal900218423150922183044157107361197128.0%265369506115122671710224898184
Puerto Rico9047855275805447584819356282311.5%985119831871572105728821918
Reunion25320017150317120616742737792.2%3376044419710423481910949
Romania240567417988646772429275714491528432.0%116992808514658408098107081585
Russian Federation1690694660761713047755245239719125192361200474.8%618340557298152197236669569493553
Rwanda2536885499722519959500507194523.7%6603780013245102398268763
Saint Barthelemy258062256056000.0%6090898141259
Saint Kitts and Nevis27245134731397013924460.3%256932519155372101528
Saint Lucia622095113750293498504430.9%10745584210199183365167
Saint Martin (French part)5741185818331813201.1%245405132627211499
Saint Pierre and Miquelon229495456101831017760.1%9669417816
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines404922932829886297421440.5%613584420983088152320
San Marino63078601019101900.0%86157100315576
Sao Tome and Principe10109914252142521425200.0%35485532492046537520
Senegal1971698339601479104576021504.5%4084264103366135671235
Serbia7850789274025225338572505834280231.1%436143659159867523915904607
Seychelles2087862175612560840.1%567223917191319
Sierra Leone7271458562481754336714218687121498422.4%704374486125171290430314032477
Singapore7081118935208191957012496.0%2983745158274847503892
Sint Maarten (Dutch part)38781032862851111.3%12213011834616344
Slovakia4925716240671723851202287479976414.1%3967308481653756947768877391
Slovenia2011703130256912745211246468280532.2%239628593184839614315392962
Solomon Islands28821642753830273917526272311119444.1%7052133012564585682284070838
Somalia634268428729414678514546213230.9%520835959270896496632
South Africa12207653859886945287019470471658230311.0%859691470144260496698477577301
South Sudan62859853113952351326932913225879434500.3%1012270112891236763922674003
Spain50665050110319051044752297979196496036.2%1503679391136160972494295116282
Sri Lanka66281103964543355465334535021011512.8%6367938731612404339644079548
Sudan1873191377282372699723393600.5%7652448105104840192213
Suriname146609921396555414013687138974701162170.8%47259006003385132523094096283
Swaziland1745959471306422774392068307067.3%577455371222126950038994115
Sweden4509783427931915291141492708248520316647.0%189938410868354010999649020302
Switzerland4146427155253915626151548644139710.9%271295635175674235612360992
Syrian Arab Republic187142021062331167941017471504712.9%1167723811022761004172864
Taiwan3650311234609022799842266291136930.6%574188498245814050514924270
Tajikistan14234068603473171931678410.1%62951531053659967102
Thailand5161737120036507193451691828834810568215.5%4399213867220413862303758747587
Timor-Leste1500905729701696132685282108501.6%145383231199560009510266843
Togo5708459559755600825573931268944.5%61630723110565669410370596
Trinidad and Tobago51850839277138425737711971381.9%8762849122342841957854355
Tunisia155284142249291700451498972014811.8%2672082511930849835655801
Turkey7825379510087663898170587614042203012.5%11710076851165020951192050741
Turkmenistan489810281018875667539270.4%10523631035024292104
Turks and Caicos Islands1005771085111082109101721.6%643237593151957786
Uganda242105367794210695436664313475230197.5%77231460899112189306205680390
Ukraine603122201116872911400008108818735181354.5%1245208141112131261009240645182
United Kingdom244465043701637499087947712752196044.4%54642705114868243947125113884
Tanzania9420221526440319247373742343246613049085.3%3376420782128308638673565837518
United States948475616279745903272326407256251052160753555.9%36735970710131578038804210597378022
United States Minor Outlying Islands56614674641013.5%0000
Uruguay177902101701754212468519373701873158.8%140374796823275490860050771
US Virgin Islands3720719161188071750313046.9%2954848154317897582813
Uzbekistan4481060510636774400742141860.3%10570820100122719224975
Vanuatu124112811851551151897114305688410.8%24902953921024262494448128
Venezuela913706705659660257337827564426088952191.6%12335164260218326311359598237564
Viet Nam33079948166127851643306114682792175026910.7%3497455188210524230839961089943
Yemen4530101612614414400.0%102228100
Zambia751121042406953522453938215276259263134.1%3415924419142237391497435217778
Zimbabwe3911207514166361063270965250980209.2%1521017011073085533156568126

This data is from Global Forest Watch 2019 using a 30 percent tree cover thresh hold as the definition of "forest". All figures are hectares.

 

 

 

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 areaForestForestForestForestForestForest Loss/GainForest Loss/GainForest Loss/Gain
UN Forest Cover2015199020002005201020152010-20152010-20152005-20152005-20151990-2015
Country%(1000 ha)(1000 ha)(1000 ha)(1000 ha)(1000 ha)(1000 ha)% of 2010 cover(1000 ha)% of 2005 cover(1000 ha)
Angola46.46097659728591045848057856-624-1.10%-1248-2.10%-3120
Bahamas51.451551551551551500.00%00.00%0
Bangladesh1114941468145514421429-13-0.90%-26-1.80%-65
Belize59.916161459141713911366-25-1.80%-51-3.60%-250
Benin3957615061481145614311-250-5.50%-500-10.40%-1450
Bhutan72.325072606265627052755501.80%993.70%248
Bolivia50.66279560091587345620954764-1445-2.60%-3970-6.80%-8031
Brazil59546705521274506734498458493538-4920-1.00%-13196-2.60%-53167
Brunei Darussalam72.141339738938038000.00%-9-2.30%-33
Burkina Faso19.668476248594956495350-299-5.30%-599-10.10%-1497
Burundi10.7289198181253276239.10%9552.50%-13
Cambodia53.6129441154610731100949457-637-6.30%-1274-11.90%-3487
Central African Republic35.62256022404223262224822170-78-0.40%-156-0.70%-390
Colombia52.76441761798602015863558502-133-0.20%-1699-2.80%-5915
Comoros19.94945423937-2-5.10%-5-11.90%-12
Congo65.42272622556224712241122334-77-0.30%-137-0.60%-392
Cook Islands64141515151500.00%00.00%1
Costa Rica54256423762491260527561515.80%26510.60%192
Côte d’Ivoire32.71022210328104051040310401-20.00%-40.00%179
Cuba30.1205824352697293232002689.10%50318.70%1142
Democratic Republic of the Congo67.3160363157249155692154135152578-1557-1.00%-3114-2.00%-7785
Dominica57.85047464543-2-4.40%-3-6.50%-7
Dominican Republic41110514861652181719831669.10%33120.00%878
Ecuador50.51463113729133351294212548-394-3.00%-787-5.90%-2083
El Salvador12.8377332309287265-22-7.70%-44-14.20%-112
Equatorial Guinea55.918601743168516261568-58-3.60%-117-6.90%-292
Ethiopia11.415114137051300012296124992031.70%-501-3.90%-2615
Fiji55.79539809979931017242.40%202.00%64
French Guiana98.682188182816881388130-8-0.10%-38-0.50%-88
French Polynesia42.35510513015515500.00%2519.20%100
Gabon89.3220002200022000220002300010004.50%10004.50%1000
Gambia48.844246147148048881.70%173.60%46
Ghana41862789099053919593371421.50%2843.10%710
Guadeloupe42.57373737271-1-1.40%-2-2.70%-2
Guatemala3347484208393837223540-182-4.90%-398-10.10%-1208
Guinea25.972646904672465446364-180-2.80%-360-5.40%-900
Guinea-Bissau70.122162120207220221972-50-2.50%-100-4.80%-244
Guyana841666016622166021657616526-50-0.30%-76-0.50%-134
Haiti3.511610910510197-4-4.00%-8-7.60%-19
Honduras4181366392579251924592-600-11.60%-1200-20.70%-3544
India23.863939653906770969790706828921.30%29734.40%6743
Indonesia5311854599409978579443291010-3422-3.60%-6847-7.00%-27535
Jamaica31345341339337335-2-0.60%-4-1.20%-10
Kenya7.8472435574047423044131834.30%3669.00%-311
Laos81.317645165261687017816187619455.30%189111.20%1116
Liberia43.449294629447943294179-150-3.50%-300-6.70%-750
Madagascar21.41369213023128381255312473-80-0.60%-365-2.80%-1219
Malawi33.438963567340232373147-90-2.80%-255-7.50%-749
Malaysia67.62237621591208902212422195710.30%13056.20%-181
Mali3.966905900550551104715-395-7.70%-790-14.40%-1975
Martinique45.8494949494900.00%00.00%0
Mauritania0.2415317267242225-17-7.00%-42-15.70%-190
Mexico346976067856670836649866040-458-0.70%-1043-1.60%-3720
Mozambique48.24337841188400793897237940-1032-2.60%-2139-5.30%-5438
Myanmar44.23921834868333213177329041-2732-8.60%-4280-12.80%-10177
Nepal25.44817390036363636363600.00%00.00%-1181
New Caledonia45.983983983983983900.00%00.00%0
Nicaragua25.94514381434643114311400.00%-350-10.10%-1400
Niger0.919451328126612041142-62-5.10%-124-9.80%-803
Nigeria7.717234131371108990416993-2048-22.70%-4096-36.90%-10241
Panama62.150404867478246994617-82-1.70%-165-3.50%-423
Papua New Guinea72.53362733600335863357333559-140.00%-27-0.10%-68
Paraguay38.62115719368184751695015323-1627-9.60%-3152-17.10%-5834
Peru57.87792176147755287481173973-838-1.10%-1555-2.10%-3948
Philippines2765557027707468408040120017.50%96613.70%1485
Puerto Rico57.9287450463479496173.50%337.10%209
Réunion35.2878785888800.00%33.50%1
Rwanda19.5318344385446480347.60%9524.70%162
Saint Lucia33.32221212120-1-4.80%-1-4.80%-2
Samoa60.413017117117117100.00%00.00%41
Sao Tome and Principe55.8565656545400.00%-2-3.60%-2
Senegal4393488898867384738273-200-2.40%-400-4.60%-1075
Seychelles88.4414141414100.00%00.00%0
Sierra Leone42.53118292228242726304431811.70%2207.80%-74
Singapore23.4161616161600.00%00.00%0
Solomon Islands78.123242268224122132185-28-1.30%-56-2.50%-139
Somalia10.182827515713167476363-384-5.70%-768-10.80%-1919
Sri Lanka3322842192211821032070-33-1.60%-48-2.30%-214
Sudan10.32357021826209542008219210-872-4.30%-1744-8.30%-4360
Suriname95.41543015391153711535115332-19-0.10%-39-0.30%-98
Tanzania525592051920499204792046060-1860-3.90%-3860-7.70%-9860
Thailand32.114005170111610016249163991500.90%2991.90%2394
Timor-Leste46.1966854798742686-56-7.50%-112-14.00%-280
Togo3.5685486386287188-99-34.50%-198-51.30%-497
Trinidad and Tobago45.724123423022623483.50%41.70%-7
Uganda10.447513869342927532077-676-24.60%-1352-39.40%-2674
Venezuela52.95202649151477134750546683-822-1.70%-1030-2.20%-5343
Viet Nam47.69363117271307714128147736454.60%169613.00%5410
Zambia65.45280051134503014946848635-833-1.70%-1666-3.30%-4165
Zimbabwe36.42216418894172591562414062-1562-10.00%-3197-18.50%-8102