Annual change in forest area as a share of forest area in Benin
Benin: Annual change in forest area as a share of forest area was -1.2% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Annual change in forest area as a share of forest area in Benin, 1991–2025
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for annual change in forest area as a share of forest area in Benin is -1.2%, measured in 2025.
That represents a change of down 1.2% on the previous year and up 72.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, annual change in forest area as a share of forest area in Benin peaked at -1.1% in 2016 and was at its lowest, -4.3%, in 2015.
That places Benin 217th out of 228 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 35 years of available data.
Annual change in forest area as a share of forest area in Benin, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | -1.9% | — |
| 1992 | -1.9% | +1.9% |
| 1993 | -2.0% | +2.0% |
| 1994 | -2.0% | +2.0% |
| 1995 | -2.1% | +2.1% |
| 1996 | -2.1% | +2.1% |
| 1997 | -2.2% | +2.2% |
| 1998 | -2.2% | +2.2% |
| 1999 | -2.2% | +2.2% |
| 2000 | -2.3% | +2.3% |
| 2001 | -2.5% | +10.7% |
| 2002 | -2.6% | +2.6% |
| 2003 | -2.7% | +2.7% |
| 2004 | -2.8% | +2.8% |
| 2005 | -2.8% | +2.8% |
| 2006 | -2.9% | +2.9% |
| 2007 | -3.0% | +3.0% |
| 2008 | -3.1% | +3.1% |
| 2009 | -3.2% | +3.2% |
| 2010 | -3.3% | +3.3% |
| 2011 | -3.7% | +11.3% |
| 2012 | -3.8% | +3.8% |
| 2013 | -4.0% | +4.0% |
| 2014 | -4.1% | +4.1% |
| 2015 | -4.3% | +4.3% |
| 2016 | -1.1% | -75.0% |
| 2017 | -1.1% | +1.1% |
| 2018 | -1.1% | +1.1% |
| 2019 | -1.1% | +1.1% |
| 2020 | -1.1% | +1.1% |
| 2021 | -1.1% | +1.1% |
| 2022 | -1.2% | +1.2% |
| 2023 | -1.2% | +1.2% |
| 2024 | -1.2% | +1.2% |
| 2025 | -1.2% | +1.2% |
Benin compared with similar countries
- Benin's -1.2% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is -0.0%, 40.9× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Benin's -1.2% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is -0.3%, 3.4× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Annual change in forest area as a share of forest area in Benin changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | +75.0% | -4.3% | -1.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | -2.1% | -2.2% | -1.9% | 9 |
| 2000s | -2.8% | -3.2% | -2.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | -2.8% | -4.3% | -1.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | -1.2% | -1.2% | -1.1% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Benin
More environment data for Benin
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -9.6 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -10.11 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.268 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.29 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 2.38 % 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 2.92 % 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 as a share of forest area in Benin?
- Annual change in forest area as a share of forest area in Benin was -1.2% 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 as a share of forest area recorded in Benin?
- The highest recorded value was -1.1% in 2016.
- What is the lowest annual change in forest area as a share of forest area recorded in Benin?
- The lowest recorded value was -4.3% in 2015.
- How does Benin rank for annual change in forest area as a share of forest area?
- Benin ranks 217th out of 228 countries with data for 2025.
- Is annual change in forest area as a share of forest area rising or falling in Benin?
- Over the last ten years it is up 72.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Benin 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 as a share of 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
Annual net change in forest area measures forest expansion (the sum of afforestation and natural expansion) minus deforestation.