Annual change in forest area in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Annual change in forest area was 3,518 hectares in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Annual change in forest area in Costa Rica, 1991–2025
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
Costa Rica recorded 3,518 hectares for annual change in forest area in 2025.
The figure is down 76.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, annual change in forest area in Costa Rica peaked at 14,742 hectares in 2011 and was at its lowest, 3,170 hectares, in 2001.
Costa Rica ranks 41st of 235 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 9,031 hectares | 9,031 hectares | 9,031 hectares | 9 |
| 2000s | 3,756 hectares | 3,170 hectares | 9,031 hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 9,095 hectares | 3,170 hectares | 14,742 hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 3,518 hectares | 3,518 hectares | 3,518 hectares | 6 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
More environment data for Costa Rica
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 17.08 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 3.33 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 4.38 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 0.0273 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 0.0074 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.0131 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 6.38 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.0006 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.0288 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 1.92 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is annual change in forest area in Costa Rica?
- Annual change in forest area in Costa Rica was 3,518 hectares in 2025, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest annual change in forest area recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 14,742 hectares in 2011.
- What is the lowest annual change in forest area recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 3,170 hectares in 2001.
- How does Costa Rica rank for annual change in forest area?
- Costa Rica ranks 41st out of 235 countries with data for 2025.
- Is annual change in forest area rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is down 76.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Annual change in forest area. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 35 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Net change in forest area measures forest expansion (the sum of afforestation and natural expansion) minus deforestation.