Annual change in forest area as a share of forest area in Vanuatu
Vanuatu: Annual change in forest area as a share of forest area was -0.3% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Annual change in forest area as a share of forest area in Vanuatu, 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 Vanuatu is -0.3%, measured in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 35 years on record.
The figure is down 0.3% on the previous year and down 2.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, annual change in forest area as a share of forest area in Vanuatu peaked at -0.2% in 1991 and was at its lowest, -0.3%, in 2025.
That places Vanuatu 180th out of 228 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 35 years of available data.
Annual change in forest area as a share of forest area in Vanuatu, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | -0.2% | — |
| 1992 | -0.2% | +0.2% |
| 1993 | -0.2% | +0.2% |
| 1994 | -0.2% | +0.2% |
| 1995 | -0.2% | +0.2% |
| 1996 | -0.2% | +0.2% |
| 1997 | -0.2% | +0.2% |
| 1998 | -0.2% | +0.2% |
| 1999 | -0.2% | +0.2% |
| 2000 | -0.2% | +0.2% |
| 2001 | -0.2% | +0.3% |
| 2002 | -0.2% | +0.2% |
| 2003 | -0.2% | +0.2% |
| 2004 | -0.2% | +0.2% |
| 2005 | -0.2% | +0.2% |
| 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 | -0.3% | +0.2% |
| 2012 | -0.3% | +0.3% |
| 2013 | -0.3% | +0.3% |
| 2014 | -0.3% | +0.3% |
| 2015 | -0.3% | +0.3% |
| 2016 | -0.3% | +0.3% |
| 2017 | -0.3% | +0.3% |
| 2018 | -0.3% | +0.3% |
| 2019 | -0.3% | +0.3% |
| 2020 | -0.3% | +0.3% |
| 2021 | -0.3% | +0.3% |
| 2022 | -0.3% | +0.3% |
| 2023 | -0.3% | +0.3% |
| 2024 | -0.3% | +0.3% |
| 2025 | -0.3% | +0.3% |
Vanuatu compared with similar countries
- Vanuatu's -0.3% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is -0.0%, 9.0× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | -0.2% | -0.2% | -0.2% | 9 |
| 2000s | -0.2% | -0.3% | -0.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | -0.3% | -0.3% | -0.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | -0.3% | -0.3% | -0.3% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Vanuatu
More environment data for Vanuatu
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 2.29 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 1.46 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.225 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.02 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 1.53 % 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 -2.35 % 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 Vanuatu?
- Annual change in forest area as a share of forest area in Vanuatu was -0.3% 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 Vanuatu?
- The highest recorded value was -0.2% in 1991.
- What is the lowest annual change in forest area as a share of forest area recorded in Vanuatu?
- The lowest recorded value was -0.3% in 2025.
- How does Vanuatu rank for annual change in forest area as a share of forest area?
- Vanuatu ranks 180th out of 228 countries with data for 2025.
- Is annual change in forest area as a share of forest area rising or falling in Vanuatu?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Vanuatu 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.
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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.