Commodity driven deforestation in Congo
Congo: Commodity driven deforestation was 6,340 in 2024. ▲ Rising
Commodity driven deforestation in Congo, 2001–2024
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
Congo recorded 6,340 for commodity driven deforestation in 2024.
That represents a change of up 31.6% on the previous year and down 7.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, commodity driven deforestation in Congo peaked at 8,049 in 2010 and was at its lowest, 1,867, in 2004.
That places Congo 50th out of 187 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 24 years of available data.
Commodity driven deforestation in Congo, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 3,110 | — |
| 2002 | 4,477 | +43.9% |
| 2003 | 3,870 | -13.6% |
| 2004 | 1,867 | -51.7% |
| 2005 | 2,466 | +32.0% |
| 2006 | 2,781 | +12.8% |
| 2007 | 4,827 | +73.6% |
| 2008 | 3,980 | -17.5% |
| 2009 | 2,698 | -32.2% |
| 2010 | 8,049 | +198.3% |
| 2011 | 5,764 | -28.4% |
| 2012 | 5,345 | -7.3% |
| 2013 | 5,831 | +9.1% |
| 2014 | 6,866 | +17.7% |
| 2015 | 4,553 | -33.7% |
| 2016 | 7,368 | +61.8% |
| 2017 | 6,467 | -12.2% |
| 2018 | 5,008 | -22.6% |
| 2019 | 7,197 | +43.7% |
| 2020 | 6,699 | -6.9% |
| 2021 | 5,054 | -24.6% |
| 2022 | 5,283 | +4.5% |
| 2023 | 4,816 | -8.9% |
| 2024 | 6,340 | +31.6% |
Congo compared with similar countries
- Congo's 6,340 is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 1,953, 3.2× the median. (44 countries reporting)
- Congo's 6,340 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 3,723, 1.7× the median. (45 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Commodity driven deforestation in 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | +198.3% | 2,698 | 8,049 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 3,342 | 1,867 | 4,827 | 9 |
| 2010s | 6,245 | 4,553 | 8,049 | 10 |
| 2020s | 5,638 | 4,816 | 6,699 | 5 |
Countries ranked near Congo
- 47 Kenya 9,634 compare
- 48 Dominican Republic 9,293 compare
- 49 Costa Rica 7,308 compare
- 51 Papua New Guinea 5,420 compare
- 52 Guinea-Bissau 4,696 compare
- 53 Australia 4,652 compare
More environment data for Congo
- Grazing land use over the long-term, annual growth rate -0.0002 % change on previous year (2025)
- Grazing land use over the long-term, per unit of GDP 0.0006 hectares per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Grazing land use over the long-term, per capita 1.54 hectares per person (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -9.96 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -6.68 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.202 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.13 °C (2025)
- Grazing land use over the long-term, per square kilometre 29.28 hectares per square kilometre (2024)
- Sawnwood, coniferous — Production, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is commodity driven deforestation in Congo?
- Commodity driven deforestation in Congo was 6,340 in 2024, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest commodity driven deforestation recorded in Congo?
- The highest recorded value was 8,049 in 2010.
- What is the lowest commodity driven deforestation recorded in Congo?
- The lowest recorded value was 1,867 in 2004.
- How does Congo rank for commodity driven deforestation?
- Congo ranks 50th out of 187 countries with data for 2024.
- Is commodity driven deforestation rising or falling in Congo?
- Over the last ten years it is down 7.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Congo data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Commodity driven deforestation. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 24 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).