Annual change in forest area as a share of forest area in Rwanda
Rwanda: Annual change in forest area as a share of forest area was 2.3% in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Annual change in forest area as a share of forest area in Rwanda, 1991–2025
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2025, annual change in forest area as a share of forest area in Rwanda stood at 2.3%.
That represents a change of down 2.3% on the previous year and down 22.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, annual change in forest area as a share of forest area in Rwanda peaked at 3.4% in 2011 and was at its lowest, -0.7%, in 2000.
That places Rwanda 2nd out of 228 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Annual change in forest area as a share of forest area in Rwanda, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | -0.6% | — |
| 1992 | -0.6% | +0.6% |
| 1993 | -0.6% | +0.6% |
| 1994 | -0.6% | +0.6% |
| 1995 | -0.7% | +0.7% |
| 1996 | -0.7% | +0.7% |
| 1997 | -0.7% | +0.7% |
| 1998 | -0.7% | +0.7% |
| 1999 | -0.7% | +0.7% |
| 2000 | -0.7% | +0.7% |
| 2001 | 0.2% | -125.3% |
| 2002 | 0.2% | -0.2% |
| 2003 | 0.2% | -0.2% |
| 2004 | 0.2% | -0.2% |
| 2005 | 0.2% | -0.2% |
| 2006 | 0.2% | -0.2% |
| 2007 | 0.2% | -0.2% |
| 2008 | 0.2% | -0.2% |
| 2009 | 0.2% | -0.2% |
| 2010 | 0.2% | -0.2% |
| 2011 | 3.4% | +1906.6% |
| 2012 | 3.3% | -3.3% |
| 2013 | 3.2% | -3.2% |
| 2014 | 3.1% | -3.1% |
| 2015 | 3.0% | -3.0% |
| 2016 | 2.9% | -2.9% |
| 2017 | 2.8% | -2.8% |
| 2018 | 2.7% | -2.7% |
| 2019 | 2.7% | -2.7% |
| 2020 | 2.6% | -2.6% |
| 2021 | 2.5% | -2.5% |
| 2022 | 2.5% | -2.5% |
| 2023 | 2.4% | -2.4% |
| 2024 | 2.3% | -2.3% |
| 2025 | 2.3% | -2.3% |
Rwanda compared with similar countries
- Rwanda's 2.3% is above the median for low income countries, which is -0.5%. (25 countries reporting)
- Rwanda's 2.3% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is -0.3%. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Annual change in forest area as a share of forest area in Rwanda 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | +1906.6% | 0.2% | 3.4% |
| 2001 | +125.3% | -0.7% | 0.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | -0.7% | -0.7% | -0.6% | 9 |
| 2000s | 0.1% | -0.7% | 0.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.7% | 0.2% | 3.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.4% | 2.3% | 2.6% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Rwanda
More environment data for Rwanda
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -5.64 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -5.05 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate -31.63 % change on previous year (2013)
- Standard Deviation 0.268 °C (2013)
- Temperature change 1.35 °C (2013)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.0359 % 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 -1.42 % 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 Rwanda?
- Annual change in forest area as a share of forest area in Rwanda was 2.3% 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 Rwanda?
- The highest recorded value was 3.4% in 2011.
- What is the lowest annual change in forest area as a share of forest area recorded in Rwanda?
- The lowest recorded value was -0.7% in 2000.
- How does Rwanda rank for annual change in forest area as a share of forest area?
- Rwanda ranks 2nd out of 228 countries with data for 2025.
- Is annual change in forest area as a share of forest area rising or falling in Rwanda?
- Over the last ten years it is down 22.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Rwanda 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.