Gabon vs South Africa: Forest area
Gabon
23.56 million hectares
in 2025
South Africa
22.88 million hectares
in 2025
Gabon rank
26th
South Africa rank
27th
Forest area over time
- Gabon
- South Africa
How they compare
Gabon currently reports 23.56 million hectares against 22.88 million hectares in South Africa, a difference of 673,900 hectares.
Across all 36 years both countries report, Gabon has been ahead every year.
Gabon ranks 26th and South Africa ranks 27th of 235 countries.
Gabon has averaged higher in every one of the 4 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Gabon | South Africa | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 23.74 million hectares | 20.21 million hectares | 3.53 million hectares | Gabon |
| 2000s | 23.69 million hectares | 21.09 million hectares | 2.61 million hectares | Gabon |
| 2010s | 23.63 million hectares | 21.96 million hectares | 1.67 million hectares | Gabon |
| 2020s | 23.57 million hectares | 22.66 million hectares | 909,617 hectares | Gabon |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher forest area, Gabon or South Africa?
- Gabon, at 23.56 million hectares against 22.88 million hectares in South Africa as of 2025.
- What is the difference in forest area between Gabon and South Africa?
- 673,900 hectares, with Gabon ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Gabon and South Africa?
- 36 years are reported by both, from 1990 to 2025.
- How do Gabon and South Africa rank globally for forest area?
- Gabon ranks 26th and South Africa ranks 27th of 235 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Forest area. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Forest area is land under natural or planted stands of trees of at least 5 meters in situ, whether productive or not, and excludes tree stands in agricultural production systems.