Annual forest expansion in Mexico
Mexico: Annual forest expansion was 38,050 hectares per year in 2020. ◆ Volatile
Annual forest expansion in Mexico, 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
The most recent figure for annual forest expansion in Mexico is 38,050 hectares per year, measured in 2020. That is the lowest value across all 5 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 3.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, annual forest expansion in Mexico peaked at 454,930 hectares per year in 1990 and was at its lowest, 38,050 hectares per year, in 2015.
That places Mexico 14th out of 110 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the top quarter.
Annual forest expansion in Mexico, year by year
| Year | hectares per year | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 454,930 hectares per year | — |
| 2000 | 271,130 hectares per year | -40.4% |
| 2010 | 39,390 hectares per year | -85.5% |
| 2015 | 38,050 hectares per year | -3.4% |
| 2020 | 38,050 hectares per year | +0.0% |
Mexico compared with similar countries
- Mexico's 38,050 hectares per year is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 4,420 hectares per year, 8.6× the median. (23 countries reporting)
- Mexico's 38,050 hectares per year is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 6,445 hectares per year, 5.9× the median. (20 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 454,930 hectares per year | 454,930 hectares per year | 454,930 hectares per year | 1 |
| 2000s | 271,130 hectares per year | 271,130 hectares per year | 271,130 hectares per year | 1 |
| 2010s | 38,720 hectares per year | 38,050 hectares per year | 39,390 hectares per year | 2 |
| 2020s | 38,050 hectares per year | 38,050 hectares per year | 38,050 hectares per year | 1 |
Countries ranked near Mexico
More environment data for Mexico
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 0.6859 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 0.6189 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.234 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.62 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.1645 % 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 -0.5194 % 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 Mexico?
- Annual forest expansion in Mexico was 38,050 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 Mexico?
- The highest recorded value was 454,930 hectares per year in 1990.
- What is the lowest annual forest expansion recorded in Mexico?
- The lowest recorded value was 38,050 hectares per year in 2015.
- How does Mexico rank for annual forest expansion?
- Mexico ranks 14th out of 110 countries with data for 2020.
- Is annual forest expansion rising or falling in Mexico?
- Over the last ten years it is down 3.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Mexico 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).