Change forest area share total in Democratic Republic of Congo
Democratic Republic of Congo: Change forest area share total was -0.2032 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Change forest area share total in Democratic Republic of Congo, 1991–2025
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2025, change forest area share total in Democratic Republic of Congo stood at -0.2032.
The figure is down 0.2% on the previous year and up 71.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, change forest area share total in Democratic Republic of Congo peaked at -0.1996 in 2016 and was at its lowest, -0.7073, in 2015.
That places Democratic Republic of Congo 175th 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.
Change forest area share total in Democratic Republic of Congo, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | -0.4222 | — |
| 1992 | -0.424 | +0.4% |
| 1993 | -0.4258 | +0.4% |
| 1994 | -0.4276 | +0.4% |
| 1995 | -0.4295 | +0.4% |
| 1996 | -0.4313 | +0.4% |
| 1997 | -0.4332 | +0.4% |
| 1998 | -0.4351 | +0.4% |
| 1999 | -0.437 | +0.4% |
| 2000 | -0.4389 | +0.4% |
| 2001 | -0.4408 | +0.4% |
| 2002 | -0.4428 | +0.4% |
| 2003 | -0.4448 | +0.4% |
| 2004 | -0.4467 | +0.4% |
| 2005 | -0.4487 | +0.4% |
| 2006 | -0.4508 | +0.5% |
| 2007 | -0.4528 | +0.5% |
| 2008 | -0.4549 | +0.5% |
| 2009 | -0.457 | +0.5% |
| 2010 | -0.459 | +0.5% |
| 2011 | -0.6878 | +49.8% |
| 2012 | -0.6926 | +0.7% |
| 2013 | -0.6974 | +0.7% |
| 2014 | -0.7023 | +0.7% |
| 2015 | -0.7073 | +0.7% |
| 2016 | -0.1996 | -71.8% |
| 2017 | -0.2 | +0.2% |
| 2018 | -0.2004 | +0.2% |
| 2019 | -0.2008 | +0.2% |
| 2020 | -0.2012 | +0.2% |
| 2021 | -0.2016 | +0.2% |
| 2022 | -0.202 | +0.2% |
| 2023 | -0.2024 | +0.2% |
| 2024 | -0.2028 | +0.2% |
| 2025 | -0.2032 | +0.2% |
Democratic Republic of Congo compared with similar countries
- Democratic Republic of Congo's -0.2032 is above the median for low income countries, which is -0.4663, 44% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Democratic Republic of Congo's -0.2032 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is -0.3469, 59% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Change forest area share total in Democratic Republic of Congo 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 | +71.8% | -0.7073 | -0.1996 |
| 2011 | -49.8% | -0.459 | -0.6878 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | -0.4295 | -0.437 | -0.4222 | 9 |
| 2000s | -0.4478 | -0.457 | -0.4389 | 10 |
| 2010s | -0.4747 | -0.7073 | -0.1996 | 10 |
| 2020s | -0.2022 | -0.2032 | -0.2012 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Democratic Republic of Congo
More environment data for Democratic Republic of Congo
- Grazing land use over the long-term, annual growth rate 0.0005 % change on previous year (2025)
- Grazing land use over the long-term, per unit of GDP 0.0002 hectares per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Grazing land use over the long-term, per capita 0.1613 hectares per person (2025)
- Grazing land use over the long-term, per square kilometre 8.03 hectares per square kilometre (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 2.26 % 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 5.2 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is change forest area share total in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- Change forest area share total in Democratic Republic of Congo was -0.2032 in 2025, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest change forest area share total recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- The highest recorded value was -0.1996 in 2016.
- What is the lowest change forest area share total recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- The lowest recorded value was -0.7073 in 2015.
- How does Democratic Republic of Congo rank for change forest area share total?
- Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 175th out of 228 countries with data for 2025.
- Is change forest area share total rising or falling in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- Over the last ten years it is up 71.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Democratic Republic of Congo data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Change forest area share total. 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).