Which has higher exported deforestation, China or Democratic Republic of Congo?

Democratic Republic of Congo, at 336,154 hectares against 86,523 hectares in China as of 2023.

What is the difference in exported deforestation between China and Democratic Republic of Congo?

249,631 hectares, with Democratic Republic of Congo ahead.

How many years of comparable data are there for China and Democratic Republic of Congo?

19 years are reported by both, from 2005 to 2023.

Where does this data come from?

Singh et al. (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Exported deforestation. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

China vs Democratic Republic of Congo: Exported deforestation

China

86,523 hectares

in 2023

Democratic Republic of Congo

336,154 hectares

in 2023

China rank

4th

Democratic Republic of Congo rank

1st

Exported deforestation over time

China
Democratic Republic of Congo

How they compare

Democratic Republic of Congo currently reports 336,154 hectares against 86,523 hectares in China, a difference of 249,631 hectares.

That makes Democratic Republic of Congo's figure about 3.9 times China's.

The two have swapped places 1 time across 19 shared years of data; in 2005 it was China ahead.

China ranks 4th and Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 1st of 178 countries.

Democratic Republic of Congo has averaged higher in every one of the 3 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade	China	Democratic Republic of Congo	Difference	Ahead
2000s	88,283 hectares	117,107 hectares	28,824 hectares	Democratic Republic of Congo
2010s	75,136 hectares	238,152 hectares	163,016 hectares	Democratic Republic of Congo
2020s	87,049 hectares	245,111 hectares	158,062 hectares	Democratic Republic of Congo

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher exported deforestation, China or Democratic Republic of Congo?: Democratic Republic of Congo, at 336,154 hectares against 86,523 hectares in China as of 2023.
What is the difference in exported deforestation between China and Democratic Republic of Congo?: 249,631 hectares, with Democratic Republic of Congo ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for China and Democratic Republic of Congo?: 19 years are reported by both, from 2005 to 2023.
How do China and Democratic Republic of Congo rank globally for exported deforestation?: China ranks 4th and Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 1st of 178 countries.
Where does this data come from?: Singh et al. (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Exported deforestation. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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China vs Democratic Republic of Congo: Exported deforestation. Statizoid, drawing on Singh et al. (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 23 September 2026, from https://environment.statizoid.com/compare/exported-deforestation/china/congo-dem-rep/

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About this data

Indicator: Exported deforestation
Unit: hectares
Source: Singh et al. (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 178 places, 3,320 data points, 2005–2023
Last refreshed: 18 September 2026

Exported deforestation is the amount of annual deforestation that is driven by the production of food and forestry products that are exported for consumption in other countries. This is measured in hectares.