Annual change in forest area in Malawi
Malawi: Annual change in forest area was -42,000 hectares in 2025. ▬ Flat
Latest (2025)
-42,000 hectares
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
204th
of 235 countries
All-time high
-42,000 hectares
in 2001
All-time low
-42,006 hectares
in 1991
Years of data
35
1991–2025
Annual change in forest area in Malawi, 1991–2025
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
Malawi recorded -42,000 hectares for annual change in forest area in 2025. That is the highest value across all 35 years on record.
The figure is unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, annual change in forest area in Malawi peaked at -42,000 hectares in 2001 and was at its lowest, -42,006 hectares, in 1991.
That places Malawi 204th out of 235 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
Annual change in forest area in Malawi, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | -42,006 hectares | — |
| 1992 | -42,006 hectares | -0.0% |
| 1993 | -42,006 hectares | -0.0% |
| 1994 | -42,006 hectares | -0.0% |
| 1995 | -42,006 hectares | -0.0% |
| 1996 | -42,006 hectares | -0.0% |
| 1997 | -42,006 hectares | -0.0% |
| 1998 | -42,006 hectares | -0.0% |
| 1999 | -42,006 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2000 | -42,006 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2001 | -42,000 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2002 | -42,000 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2003 | -42,000 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2004 | -42,000 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2005 | -42,000 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2006 | -42,000 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2007 | -42,000 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2008 | -42,000 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2009 | -42,000 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2010 | -42,000 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2011 | -42,000 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2012 | -42,000 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2013 | -42,000 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2014 | -42,000 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2015 | -42,000 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2016 | -42,000 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2017 | -42,000 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2018 | -42,000 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2019 | -42,000 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2020 | -42,000 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2021 | -42,000 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2022 | -42,000 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2023 | -42,000 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2024 | -42,000 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2025 | -42,000 hectares | -0.0% |
Malawi compared with similar countries
- Malawi's -42,000 hectares is below the median for low income countries, which is -19,726 hectares, 2.1× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Malawi's -42,000 hectares is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is -7,546 hectares, 5.6× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | -42,006 hectares | -42,006 hectares | -42,006 hectares | 9 |
| 2000s | -42,001 hectares | -42,006 hectares | -42,000 hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | -42,000 hectares | -42,000 hectares | -42,000 hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | -42,000 hectares | -42,000 hectares | -42,000 hectares | 6 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
More environment data for Malawi
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -0.9153 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -0.8098 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.254 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.07 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 3.65 % 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 5.3 % 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 Malawi?
- Annual change in forest area in Malawi was -42,000 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 Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was -42,000 hectares in 2001.
- What is the lowest annual change in forest area recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was -42,006 hectares in 1991.
- How does Malawi rank for annual change in forest area?
- Malawi ranks 204th out of 235 countries with data for 2025.
- Is annual change in forest area rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this Malawi 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.