Tropical deforestation trends


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


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