Change forest area share total in Malawi
Malawi: Change forest area share total was -2.07 in 2025. ▼ Falling
Latest (2025)
-2.07
Change on year
down 2.1%
World rank
223rd
of 228 countries
All-time high
-1.21
in 1991
All-time low
-2.07
in 2025
Years of data
35
1991–2025
Change forest area share total in Malawi, 1991–2025
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2025, change forest area share total in Malawi stood at -2.07. That is the lowest value across all 35 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 2.1% on the previous year and down 20.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, change forest area share total in Malawi peaked at -1.21 in 1991 and was at its lowest, -2.07, in 2025.
Malawi ranks 223rd of 228 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 35 years of available data.
Change forest area share total in Malawi, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | -1.21 | — |
| 1992 | -1.23 | +1.2% |
| 1993 | -1.24 | +1.2% |
| 1994 | -1.26 | +1.3% |
| 1995 | -1.28 | +1.3% |
| 1996 | -1.29 | +1.3% |
| 1997 | -1.31 | +1.3% |
| 1998 | -1.33 | +1.3% |
| 1999 | -1.34 | +1.3% |
| 2000 | -1.36 | +1.4% |
| 2001 | -1.38 | +1.4% |
| 2002 | -1.4 | +1.4% |
| 2003 | -1.42 | +1.4% |
| 2004 | -1.44 | +1.4% |
| 2005 | -1.46 | +1.5% |
| 2006 | -1.48 | +1.5% |
| 2007 | -1.51 | +1.5% |
| 2008 | -1.53 | +1.5% |
| 2009 | -1.55 | +1.6% |
| 2010 | -1.58 | +1.6% |
| 2011 | -1.6 | +1.6% |
| 2012 | -1.63 | +1.6% |
| 2013 | -1.66 | +1.7% |
| 2014 | -1.68 | +1.7% |
| 2015 | -1.71 | +1.7% |
| 2016 | -1.74 | +1.7% |
| 2017 | -1.77 | +1.8% |
| 2018 | -1.81 | +1.8% |
| 2019 | -1.84 | +1.8% |
| 2020 | -1.87 | +1.9% |
| 2021 | -1.91 | +1.9% |
| 2022 | -1.95 | +1.9% |
| 2023 | -1.99 | +2.0% |
| 2024 | -2.03 | +2.0% |
| 2025 | -2.07 | +2.1% |
Malawi compared with similar countries
- Malawi's -2.07 is below the median for low income countries, which is -0.4663, 4.4× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Malawi's -2.07 is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is -0.3469, 6.0× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | -1.28 | -1.34 | -1.21 | 9 |
| 2000s | -1.45 | -1.55 | -1.36 | 10 |
| 2010s | -1.7 | -1.84 | -1.58 | 10 |
| 2020s | -1.97 | -2.07 | -1.87 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
More environment data for Malawi
- Grazing land use over the long-term, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Grazing land use over the long-term, per unit of GDP 0.0001 hectares per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Grazing land use over the long-term, per capita 0.0833 hectares per person (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -0.9153 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -0.8098 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.254 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.07 °C (2025)
- Grazing land use over the long-term, per square kilometre 19.62 hectares per square kilometre (2024)
- Sawnwood, coniferous — Production, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is change forest area share total in Malawi?
- Change forest area share total in Malawi was -2.07 in 2025, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest change forest area share total recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was -1.21 in 1991.
- What is the lowest change forest area share total recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was -2.07 in 2025.
- How does Malawi rank for change forest area share total?
- Malawi ranks 223rd out of 228 countries with data for 2025.
- Is change forest area share total rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is down 20.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Malawi 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).