Tropical forest cover as percent of total land area


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 coverForest cover as % of land mass5-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
Equatorial Guinea2,659,05699.1%41,7821.6%58,3332.2%43.3%67,303
French Guiana8,162,64798.9%22,2310.3%39,0200.5%13.9%51,244
Liberia9,384,70498.2%394,3344.3%597,4696.4%32.0%711,477
Solomon Islands2,736,45898.0%42,2021.6%73,6662.7%14.6%85,617
Vanuatu1,182,55198.0%2,8040.2%4,6890.4%19.6%5,830
Suriname13,949,66396.6%55,1020.4%80,5170.6%36.9%97,893
Dominica70,92294.6%3150.4%6010.8%5.0%742
Gabon24,698,65994.4%132,4910.5%221,6310.9%19.6%277,413
Papua New Guinea42,940,88893.4%335,4080.8%600,2981.4%11.7%781,082
Brunei527,81392.2%8,0451.6%15,3702.9%4.7%19,700
Guyana18,995,49191.0%46,7750.2%81,5180.4%14.8%107,866
Palau41,16390.2%2060.5%4701.1%-12.2%645
Malaysia29,415,65089.9%2,347,5539.0%4,452,51715.8%5.4%5,632,714
Sao Tome and Principe14,20788.5%00.0%00.0%077
Democratic Republic of the Congo199,224,29587.1%3,891,7402.0%6,332,6193.2%22.9%7,977,010
Fiji1,582,74786.8%9,9590.6%19,8251.3%0.5%25,279
Indonesia160,978,09685.8%7,718,1135.1%15,069,6539.6%2.4%18,507,771
Saint Lucia50,73384.0%3060.6%6171.2%-1.0%719
Laos19,118,74383.9%842,1104.6%1,392,1127.4%21.0%1,635,813
Comoros134,78981.9%3,2242.4%3,5492.6%81.7%3,694
Belize1,748,54480.9%78,5494.7%121,6667.1%29.1%154,508
Grenada28,57280.9%3461.3%6512.3%6.3%1,452
Sierra Leone5,617,47778.0%342,6506.3%451,3988.1%51.8%498,424
Republic of Congo26,386,12077.9%218,6720.8%325,8641.2%34.2%409,526
New Caledonia1,440,56677.0%6,2110.4%12,2900.9%1.1%16,009
Panama5,699,91976.8%80,1501.5%224,3584.0%-28.6%289,942
Costa Rica3,912,90776.8%50,8181.3%133,2283.4%-23.7%180,006
Trinidad and Tobago391,86976.4%6,6031.7%13,3433.4%-1.0%17,359
Central African Republic47,070,87076.0%248,2240.5%452,8791.0%9.6%546,921
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines29,14675.2%1450.5%2670.9%8.6%313
Ecuador19,064,82075.0%225,1811.2%472,0682.5%-4.6%598,816
Colombia81,779,08372.6%918,3791.1%2,035,0002.5%-9.7%2,822,694
Guatemala7,693,75371.3%288,1064.1%732,1719.9%-21.3%995,707
Jamaica768,47170.1%11,0021.5%28,2323.7%-22.1%36,057
Micronesia6,17769.5%771.2%771.2%100.0%77
Honduras7,740,00769.4%219,2023.0%438,5305.8%0.0%572,519
Cameroon31,467,69268.0%362,3831.2%540,6991.7%34.0%657,057
Martinique74,64067.5%8241.1%1,7532.4%-6.0%2,450
Nicaragua7,776,95065.6%394,6235.4%754,0619.9%4.7%920,393
Myanmar42,859,26064.6%1,038,3852.5%1,739,7824.1%19.4%2,030,101
Bhutan2,580,57164.6%7,6940.3%11,5580.4%33.1%13,643
Philippines18,600,33563.6%336,6661.9%609,9673.3%10.4%761,175
Venezuela56,531,45062.8%426,4540.8%984,2401.8%-13.3%1,376,709
Brazil519,191,66461.9%11,738,6372.4%24,986,0284.9%-6.0%38,336,733
Paraguay24,296,59161.3%2,033,9279.3%3,600,57615.4%13.0%4,460,595
Peru78,069,51660.9%935,9811.2%1,608,2222.1%16.4%1,949,886
Sri Lanka3,940,05860.5%53,8191.4%96,9482.5%11.0%112,884
Bolivia64,520,86260.0%1,455,8352.3%2,707,9714.2%7.5%3,394,108
Puerto Rico523,66558.8%3,8860.8%9,6221.9%-19.2%14,561
Guadeloupe94,72958.0%8480.9%1,5441.6%9.8%2,184
US Virgin Islands19,00954.4%1460.8%3912.1%-25.5%608
Dominican Republic2,576,58553.9%67,8302.8%157,9716.3%-14.1%209,756
Cayman Islands13,44851.5%1150.9%2221.7%3.3%302
Vietnam16,577,66151.3%782,9244.9%1,290,4847.9%21.3%1,504,547
Saint Kitts and Nevis13,25650.7%500.4%1591.2%-36.4%281
Cambodia8,810,80049.6%939,46711.5%1,366,81715.9%37.5%1,586,252
El Salvador988,93448.9%12,5231.3%33,6003.5%-25.5%58,305
East Timor726,03248.7%5,8770.8%15,1402.1%-22.4%20,174
British Virgin Islands7,45348.7%230.3%480.6%-2.9%60
Cote d'Ivoire14,872,64446.6%758,2385.4%1,248,6348.6%21.5%1,650,236
Antigua and Barbuda19,32846.1%1220.6%3882.0%-37.3%473
Montserrat4,58945.9%1192.6%1783.9%33.8%197
Angola55,315,47444.4%868,2411.6%1,453,8542.6%19.4%1,740,011
Thailand19,962,44339.4%530,9972.8%1,020,5675.2%4.1%1,267,835
Mauritius71,27738.4%1,4142.0%2,2933.3%23.3%3,052
Uganda7,768,51037.8%214,8972.8%369,3834.8%16.4%439,968
Mozambique28,907,58737.3%810,6922.9%1,694,0335.9%-4.3%2,048,679
Cuba4,013,55736.8%45,3551.2%111,7122.8%-18.8%174,221
Seychelles6,20436.1%40.1%40.1%78.9%5
Nepal5,160,83435.0%12,0870.2%30,0810.6%-19.6%38,505
Guinea8,159,12833.5%300,7603.8%409,3345.1%47.0%483,224
Zambia24,088,37432.7%542,4442.3%878,2723.7%23.5%1,025,306
Guinea-Bissau1,068,75432.3%43,6964.2%66,8906.3%30.7%79,883
Haiti857,98931.9%15,1001.8%25,0292.9%20.7%33,070
Ghana6,955,60929.9%267,1084.0%451,8656.7%18.2%616,484
Tanzania26,423,10329.8%774,3013.0%1,380,6995.3%12.2%1,699,305
Singapore18,76829.4%2761.5%7013.8%-21.4%922
Madagascar17,140,68829.1%1,015,8256.3%1,629,1069.7%24.7%1,971,473
Mexico53,182,95227.4%878,0171.7%1,948,1253.7%-9.9%2,587,661
Anguilla2,12127.1%50.2%311.5%-67.4%45
Maldives5,80126.5%230.4%490.8%-4.5%63
Bahamas303,56625.8%3,4551.2%9,2993.1%-25.7%11,296
Burundi538,38921.6%6,7001.3%12,7742.4%4.9%17,120
Rwanda496,55320.8%9,2531.9%14,7283.0%25.7%19,357
Malawi1,521,89516.2%50,8333.5%87,0905.8%16.7%106,593
Bangladesh1,959,60115.1%29,5291.5%54,0262.8%9.3%69,122
India38,813,95312.4%428,0471.1%796,8132.1%7.4%1,034,010
Turks and Caicos Islands10,84512.4%940.9%3613.3%-47.9%395
Curacao5,26212.3%170.3%360.7%-3.6%39
Barbados5,23712.1%1593.1%2324.5%37.6%267
Nigeria10,030,68611.1%218,4672.2%335,2523.4%30.3%439,032
Ethiopia12,040,79210.7%136,3781.1%243,2482.0%12.1%295,611
Togo558,9929.8%8,4621.6%22,1434.0%-23.6%31,755
Kenya3,317,3835.8%84,0492.7%180,4565.6%-6.8%250,306
Zimbabwe1,414,1603.7%47,2973.6%108,0667.8%-12.5%140,022
Cape Verde7,3531.9%400.6%600.8%33.0%100
Benin168,5051.5%6,5374.6%19,99312.7%-34.6%31,382
Gambia4,5920.4%1202.9%50011.2%-51.9%622
Chad409,4370.3%8,7392.2%17,6064.3%-0.7%21,048
Senegal39,9370.2%1,0412.7%1,7734.5%17.5%2,176


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