Annual change in forest area in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe: Annual change in forest area was -53,000 hectares in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
-53,000 hectares
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
208th
of 235 countries
All-time high
-53,000 hectares
in 2021
All-time low
-105,719 hectares
in 1991
Years of data
35
1991–2025

Annual change in forest area in Zimbabwe, 1991–2025

-100.0k-80.0k-60.0k1991200820251991: -105.7k hectares1992: -105.7k hectares1993: -105.7k hectares1994: -105.7k hectares1995: -105.7k hectares1996: -105.7k hectares1997: -105.7k hectares1998: -105.7k hectares1999: -105.7k hectares2000: -105.7k hectares2001: -105.7k hectares2002: -105.7k hectares2003: -105.7k hectares2004: -105.7k hectares2005: -105.7k hectares2006: -105.7k hectares2007: -105.7k hectares2008: -105.7k hectares2009: -105.7k hectares2010: -105.7k hectares2011: -59.7k hectares2012: -59.7k hectares2013: -59.7k hectares2014: -59.7k hectares2015: -59.7k hectares2016: -54.3k hectares2017: -54.3k hectares2018: -54.3k hectares2019: -54.3k hectares2020: -54.3k hectares2021: -53.0k hectares2022: -53.0k hectares2023: -53.0k hectares2024: -53.0k hectares2025: -53.0k hectares

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 Zimbabwe stood at -53,000 hectares. That is the highest value across all 35 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 11.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, annual change in forest area in Zimbabwe peaked at -53,000 hectares in 2021 and was at its lowest, -105,719 hectares, in 1991.

Zimbabwe ranks 208th of 235 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 35 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s -105,719 hectares -105,719 hectares -105,719 hectares 9
2000s -105,719 hectares -105,719 hectares -105,719 hectares 10
2010s -62,138 hectares -105,719 hectares -54,332 hectares 10
2020s -53,222 hectares -54,332 hectares -53,000 hectares 6

Countries ranked near Zimbabwe

  1. 205 Central African Republic -46,523 hectares compare
  2. 206 Venezuela -49,292 hectares compare
  3. 207 Honduras -50,220 hectares compare
  4. 209 Malaysia -60,000 hectares compare
  5. 210 Guinea -66,998 hectares compare
  6. 211 United States -72,000 hectares compare

See the full ranking of 235 places →

More environment data for Zimbabwe

All data for Zimbabwe →

Frequently asked questions

What is annual change in forest area in Zimbabwe?
Annual change in forest area in Zimbabwe was -53,000 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 Zimbabwe?
The highest recorded value was -53,000 hectares in 2021.
What is the lowest annual change in forest area recorded in Zimbabwe?
The lowest recorded value was -105,719 hectares in 1991.
How does Zimbabwe rank for annual change in forest area?
Zimbabwe ranks 208th out of 235 countries with data for 2025.
Is annual change in forest area rising or falling in Zimbabwe?
Over the last ten years it is up 11.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Zimbabwe 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.

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CSV · JSON — 35 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Annual change in forest area
Unit
hectares
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
235 places, 8,225 data points, 1991–2025
Last refreshed

Net change in forest area measures forest expansion (the sum of afforestation and natural expansion) minus deforestation.