Annual change in forest area as a share of forest area in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Annual change in forest area as a share of forest area was -0.2% in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Annual change in forest area as a share of forest area in Sri Lanka, 1991–2025
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Sri Lanka recorded -0.2% for annual change in forest area as a share of forest area in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.2% on the previous year and up 57.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, annual change in forest area as a share of forest area in Sri Lanka peaked at 0.4% in 2016 and was at its lowest, -0.6%, in 2000.
That places Sri Lanka 178th out of 228 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
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 Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | -0.6% | — |
| 1992 | -0.6% | +0.6% |
| 1993 | -0.6% | +0.6% |
| 1994 | -0.6% | +0.6% |
| 1995 | -0.6% | +0.6% |
| 1996 | -0.6% | +0.6% |
| 1997 | -0.6% | +0.6% |
| 1998 | -0.6% | +0.6% |
| 1999 | -0.6% | +0.6% |
| 2000 | -0.6% | +0.6% |
| 2001 | -0.3% | -45.7% |
| 2002 | -0.3% | +0.3% |
| 2003 | -0.3% | +0.3% |
| 2004 | -0.3% | +0.3% |
| 2005 | -0.3% | +0.3% |
| 2006 | -0.3% | +0.3% |
| 2007 | -0.3% | +0.3% |
| 2008 | -0.3% | +0.3% |
| 2009 | -0.3% | +0.3% |
| 2010 | -0.3% | +0.3% |
| 2011 | -0.5% | +54.4% |
| 2012 | -0.5% | +0.5% |
| 2013 | -0.5% | +0.5% |
| 2014 | -0.5% | +0.5% |
| 2015 | -0.6% | +0.6% |
| 2016 | 0.4% | -181.4% |
| 2017 | 0.4% | -0.4% |
| 2018 | 0.4% | -0.4% |
| 2019 | 0.4% | -0.4% |
| 2020 | 0.4% | -0.4% |
| 2021 | -0.2% | -152.5% |
| 2022 | -0.2% | +0.2% |
| 2023 | -0.2% | +0.2% |
| 2024 | -0.2% | +0.2% |
| 2025 | -0.2% | +0.2% |
Sri Lanka compared with similar countries
- Sri Lanka's -0.2% is below the median for South Asia, which is -0.0%, 8.8× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Annual change in forest area as a share of forest area in Sri Lanka 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 | +181.4% | -0.6% | 0.4% |
| 2021 | -152.5% | 0.4% | -0.2% |
| 2011 | -54.4% | -0.3% | -0.5% |
| 2001 | +45.7% | -0.6% | -0.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | -0.6% | -0.6% | -0.6% | 9 |
| 2000s | -0.4% | -0.6% | -0.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | -0.1% | -0.6% | 0.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | -0.1% | -0.2% | 0.4% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
More environment data for Sri Lanka
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 5.24 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 5.49 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.207 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 0.849 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 5.63 % 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 1.22 % 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 Sri Lanka?
- Annual change in forest area as a share of forest area in Sri Lanka was -0.2% 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 Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 0.4% in 2016.
- What is the lowest annual change in forest area as a share of forest area recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was -0.6% in 2000.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for annual change in forest area as a share of forest area?
- Sri Lanka ranks 178th out of 228 countries with data for 2025.
- Is annual change in forest area as a share of forest area rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is up 57.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Sri Lanka 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.