Annual change in forest area in Namibia
Namibia: Annual change in forest area was -644.04 hectares in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Latest (2025)
-644.04 hectares
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
163rd
of 235 countries
All-time high
-643.95 hectares
in 2011
All-time low
-71,009 hectares
in 1991
Years of data
35
1991–2025
Annual change in forest area in Namibia, 1991–2025
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
The most recent figure for annual change in forest area in Namibia is -644.04 hectares, measured in 2025.
That represents a change of down 0.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, annual change in forest area in Namibia peaked at -643.95 hectares in 2011 and was at its lowest, -71,009 hectares, in 1991.
Namibia ranks 163rd of 235 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Annual change in forest area in Namibia, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | -71,009 hectares | — |
| 1992 | -71,009 hectares | -0.0% |
| 1993 | -71,009 hectares | -0.0% |
| 1994 | -71,009 hectares | -0.0% |
| 1995 | -71,009 hectares | -0.0% |
| 1996 | -71,009 hectares | -0.0% |
| 1997 | -71,009 hectares | -0.0% |
| 1998 | -71,009 hectares | -0.0% |
| 1999 | -71,009 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2000 | -71,009 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2001 | -645.02 hectares | -99.1% |
| 2002 | -645.02 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2003 | -645.02 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2004 | -645.02 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2005 | -645.02 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2006 | -645.02 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2007 | -645.02 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2008 | -645.02 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2009 | -645.02 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2010 | -645.02 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2011 | -643.95 hectares | -0.2% |
| 2012 | -643.95 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2013 | -643.95 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2014 | -643.95 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2015 | -643.95 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2016 | -646 hectares | +0.3% |
| 2017 | -646 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2018 | -646 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2019 | -646 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2020 | -646 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2021 | -644.04 hectares | -0.3% |
| 2022 | -644.04 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2023 | -644.04 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2024 | -644.04 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2025 | -644.04 hectares | -0.0% |
Namibia compared with similar countries
- Namibia's -644.04 hectares is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is -848 hectares, 76% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Namibia's -644.04 hectares is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is -7,546 hectares, 9% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | -71,009 hectares | -71,009 hectares | -71,009 hectares | 9 |
| 2000s | -7,681 hectares | -71,009 hectares | -645.02 hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | -644.87 hectares | -646 hectares | -643.95 hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | -644.37 hectares | -646 hectares | -644.04 hectares | 6 |
Countries ranked near Namibia
- 160 Trinidad and Tobago -424 hectares compare
- 161 Samoa -480 hectares compare
- 162 Moldova -580 hectares compare
- 164 Algeria -674 hectares compare
- 165 Solomon Islands -734.03 hectares compare
- 166 Western Sahara -798.01 hectares compare
More environment data for Namibia
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -2.99 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -1.14 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.319 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 0.979 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 2.32 % 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 4.07 % 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 Namibia?
- Annual change in forest area in Namibia was -644.04 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 Namibia?
- The highest recorded value was -643.95 hectares in 2011.
- What is the lowest annual change in forest area recorded in Namibia?
- The lowest recorded value was -71,009 hectares in 1991.
- How does Namibia rank for annual change in forest area?
- Namibia ranks 163rd out of 235 countries with data for 2025.
- Is annual change in forest area rising or falling in Namibia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Namibia 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.