Annual change in forest area in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone: Annual change in forest area was -19,726 hectares in 2025. ▬ Flat
Latest (2025)
-19,726 hectares
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
197th
of 235 countries
All-time high
-19,726 hectares
in 2011
All-time low
-19,727 hectares
in 1991
Years of data
35
1991–2025
Annual change in forest area in Sierra Leone, 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 Sierra Leone is -19,726 hectares, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 35 years on record.
That represents a change of unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, annual change in forest area in Sierra Leone peaked at -19,726 hectares in 2011 and was at its lowest, -19,727 hectares, in 1991.
Sierra Leone ranks 197th of 235 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
Annual change in forest area in Sierra Leone, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | -19,727 hectares | — |
| 1992 | -19,727 hectares | -0.0% |
| 1993 | -19,727 hectares | -0.0% |
| 1994 | -19,727 hectares | -0.0% |
| 1995 | -19,727 hectares | -0.0% |
| 1996 | -19,727 hectares | -0.0% |
| 1997 | -19,727 hectares | -0.0% |
| 1998 | -19,727 hectares | -0.0% |
| 1999 | -19,727 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2000 | -19,727 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2001 | -19,727 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2002 | -19,727 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2003 | -19,727 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2004 | -19,727 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2005 | -19,727 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2006 | -19,727 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2007 | -19,727 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2008 | -19,727 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2009 | -19,727 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2010 | -19,727 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2011 | -19,726 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2012 | -19,726 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2013 | -19,726 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2014 | -19,726 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2015 | -19,726 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2016 | -19,726 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2017 | -19,726 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2018 | -19,726 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2019 | -19,726 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2020 | -19,726 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2021 | -19,726 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2022 | -19,726 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2023 | -19,726 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2024 | -19,726 hectares | -0.0% |
| 2025 | -19,726 hectares | -0.0% |
Sierra Leone compared with similar countries
- Sierra Leone's -19,726 hectares is above the median for low income countries, which is -19,726 hectares, 1.0× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Sierra Leone's -19,726 hectares is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is -7,546 hectares, 2.6× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | -19,727 hectares | -19,727 hectares | -19,727 hectares | 9 |
| 2000s | -19,727 hectares | -19,727 hectares | -19,727 hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | -19,726 hectares | -19,727 hectares | -19,726 hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | -19,726 hectares | -19,726 hectares | -19,726 hectares | 6 |
Countries ranked near Sierra Leone
More environment data for Sierra Leone
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -5.4 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -5.39 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.232 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.28 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 1.72 % 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 1.11 % 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 Sierra Leone?
- Annual change in forest area in Sierra Leone was -19,726 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 Sierra Leone?
- The highest recorded value was -19,726 hectares in 2011.
- What is the lowest annual change in forest area recorded in Sierra Leone?
- The lowest recorded value was -19,727 hectares in 1991.
- How does Sierra Leone rank for annual change in forest area?
- Sierra Leone ranks 197th out of 235 countries with data for 2025.
- Is annual change in forest area rising or falling in Sierra Leone?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this Sierra Leone 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.