Annual change in forest area in Gambia
Gambia: Annual change in forest area was -6,534 hectares in 2025. ▼ Falling
Latest (2025)
-6,534 hectares
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
186th
of 235 countries
All-time high
-5,686 hectares
in 1991
All-time low
-6,534 hectares
in 2021
Years of data
35
1991–2025
Annual change in forest area in Gambia, 1991–2025
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
In 2025, annual change in forest area in Gambia stood at -6,534 hectares. That is the lowest value across all 35 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 12.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, annual change in forest area in Gambia peaked at -5,686 hectares in 1991 and was at its lowest, -6,534 hectares, in 2021.
Gambia ranks 186th of 235 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 35 years of available data.
Annual change in forest area in Gambia, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | -5,686 hectares | — |
| 1992 | -5,686 hectares | -0.0% |
| 1993 | -5,686 hectares | -0.0% |
| 1994 | -5,686 hectares | -0.0% |
| 1995 | -5,686 hectares | -0.0% |
| 1996 | -5,686 hectares | -0.0% |
| 1997 | -5,686 hectares | -0.0% |
| 1998 | -5,686 hectares | -0.0% |
| 1999 | -5,686 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2000 | -5,686 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2001 | -5,787 hectares | +1.8% |
| 2002 | -5,787 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2003 | -5,787 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2004 | -5,787 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2005 | -5,787 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2006 | -5,787 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2007 | -5,787 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2008 | -5,787 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2009 | -5,787 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2010 | -5,787 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2011 | -5,786 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2012 | -5,786 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2013 | -5,786 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2014 | -5,786 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2015 | -5,786 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2016 | -5,786 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2017 | -5,786 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2018 | -5,786 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2019 | -5,786 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2020 | -5,786 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2021 | -6,534 hectares | +12.9% |
| 2022 | -6,534 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2023 | -6,534 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2024 | -6,534 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2025 | -6,534 hectares | -0.0% |
Gambia compared with similar countries
- Gambia's -6,534 hectares is above the median for low income countries, which is -19,726 hectares, 33% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Gambia's -6,534 hectares is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is -7,546 hectares, 87% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | -5,686 hectares | -5,686 hectares | -5,686 hectares | 9 |
| 2000s | -5,777 hectares | -5,787 hectares | -5,686 hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | -5,786 hectares | -5,787 hectares | -5,786 hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | -6,409 hectares | -6,534 hectares | -5,786 hectares | 6 |
Countries ranked near Gambia
More environment data for Gambia
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -4.15 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -4.18 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.366 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.36 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.9281 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), annual growth rate -1.52 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is annual change in forest area in Gambia?
- Annual change in forest area in Gambia was -6,534 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 Gambia?
- The highest recorded value was -5,686 hectares in 1991.
- What is the lowest annual change in forest area recorded in Gambia?
- The lowest recorded value was -6,534 hectares in 2021.
- How does Gambia rank for annual change in forest area?
- Gambia ranks 186th out of 235 countries with data for 2025.
- Is annual change in forest area rising or falling in Gambia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 12.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Gambia 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.