Annual change in forest area in Laos
Laos: Annual change in forest area was -35,334 hectares in 2025. ▼ Falling
Annual change in forest area in Laos, 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 Laos stood at -35,334 hectares.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 39.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, annual change in forest area in Laos peaked at -31,338 hectares in 2016 and was at its lowest, -58,238 hectares, in 2011.
Laos ranks 201st 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.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | -34,924 hectares | -34,924 hectares | -34,924 hectares | 9 |
| 2000s | -38,543 hectares | -38,945 hectares | -34,924 hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | -45,549 hectares | -58,238 hectares | -31,338 hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | -34,668 hectares | -35,334 hectares | -31,338 hectares | 6 |
Countries ranked near Laos
More environment data for Laos
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 41.55 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 5.35 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 9.63 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 0.5411 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 1.65 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.0059 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 12.32 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.005 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.0081 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 0.4771 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is annual change in forest area in Laos?
- Annual change in forest area in Laos was -35,334 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 Laos?
- The highest recorded value was -31,338 hectares in 2016.
- What is the lowest annual change in forest area recorded in Laos?
- The lowest recorded value was -58,238 hectares in 2011.
- How does Laos rank for annual change in forest area?
- Laos ranks 201st out of 235 countries with data for 2025.
- Is annual change in forest area rising or falling in Laos?
- Over the last ten years it is up 39.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Laos 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.