Annual forest expansion in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Annual forest expansion was 8,020 hectares per year in 2020. ◆ Volatile
Annual forest expansion in Costa Rica, 1990–2020
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares per year.
Analysis
Costa Rica recorded 8,020 hectares per year for annual forest expansion in 2020.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 67.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, annual forest expansion in Costa Rica peaked at 24,770 hectares per year in 2010 and was at its lowest, 7,480 hectares per year, in 2000.
That places Costa Rica 33rd out of 110 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the middle of the range.
Annual forest expansion in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | hectares per year | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 18,320 hectares per year | — |
| 2000 | 7,480 hectares per year | -59.2% |
| 2010 | 24,770 hectares per year | +231.1% |
| 2015 | 8,020 hectares per year | -67.6% |
| 2020 | 8,020 hectares per year | +0.0% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's 8,020 hectares per year is above the median for high income countries, which is 2,880 hectares per year, 2.8× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Costa Rica's 8,020 hectares per year is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 6,445 hectares per year, 1.2× the median. (20 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 18,320 hectares per year | 18,320 hectares per year | 18,320 hectares per year | 1 |
| 2000s | 7,480 hectares per year | 7,480 hectares per year | 7,480 hectares per year | 1 |
| 2010s | 16,395 hectares per year | 8,020 hectares per year | 24,770 hectares per year | 2 |
| 2020s | 8,020 hectares per year | 8,020 hectares per year | 8,020 hectares per year | 1 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
More environment data for Costa Rica
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 2.9 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 2.71 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.257 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.61 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 2.09 % 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 -0.3048 % 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 forest expansion in Costa Rica?
- Annual forest expansion in Costa Rica was 8,020 hectares per year in 2020, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest annual forest expansion recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 24,770 hectares per year in 2010.
- What is the lowest annual forest expansion recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 7,480 hectares per year in 2000.
- How does Costa Rica rank for annual forest expansion?
- Costa Rica ranks 33rd out of 110 countries with data for 2020.
- Is annual forest expansion rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is down 67.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Costa Rica 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 forest expansion. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 5 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Forest expansion is the sum of afforestation (the establishment of forest through planting and/or deliberate seeding) and natural forest expansion (expansion of forests through natural succession on land that, until then, was under another land use).