Agriculture-driven deforestation in India

India: Agriculture-driven deforestation was 34,636 hectares in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
34,636 hectares
Change on year
down 16.5%
World rank
35th
of 187 countries
All-time high
45,266 hectares
in 2011
All-time low
13,580 hectares
in 2013
Years of data
24
2001–2024

Agriculture-driven deforestation in India, 2001–2024

10.0k20.0k30.0k40.0k50.0k2001201220242001: 17.0k hectares2002: 15.5k hectares2003: 13.9k hectares2004: 24.3k hectares2005: 19.4k hectares2006: 24.2k hectares2007: 31.1k hectares2008: 36.2k hectares2009: 32.7k hectares2010: 18.8k hectares2011: 45.3k hectares2012: 34.4k hectares2013: 13.6k hectares2014: 25.4k hectares2015: 14.5k hectares2016: 26.9k hectares2017: 29.2k hectares2018: 23.3k hectares2019: 21.9k hectares2020: 25.0k hectares2021: 24.3k hectares2022: 26.9k hectares2023: 41.5k hectares2024: 34.6k hectares

Source: Global Forest Watch (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.

Analysis

The most recent figure for agriculture-driven deforestation in India is 34,636 hectares, measured in 2024.

That represents a change of down 16.5% on the previous year and up 36.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, agriculture-driven deforestation in India peaked at 45,266 hectares in 2011 and was at its lowest, 13,580 hectares, in 2013.

India ranks 35th of 187 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 24 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 23,816 hectares 13,943 hectares 36,150 hectares 9
2010s 25,334 hectares 13,580 hectares 45,266 hectares 10
2020s 30,461 hectares 24,282 hectares 41,499 hectares 5

Countries ranked near India

  1. 32 Vietnam 39,062 hectares compare
  2. 33 Madagascar 38,994 hectares compare
  3. 34 Philippines 36,513 hectares compare
  4. 36 Central African Republic 33,249 hectares compare
  5. 37 Guinea 32,983 hectares compare
  6. 38 Ethiopia 20,253 hectares compare

See the full ranking of 187 places →

More environment data for India

All data for India →

Frequently asked questions

What is agriculture-driven deforestation in India?
Agriculture-driven deforestation in India was 34,636 hectares in 2024, according to Global Forest Watch (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest agriculture-driven deforestation recorded in India?
The highest recorded value was 45,266 hectares in 2011.
What is the lowest agriculture-driven deforestation recorded in India?
The lowest recorded value was 13,580 hectares in 2013.
How does India rank for agriculture-driven deforestation?
India ranks 35th out of 187 countries with data for 2024.
Is agriculture-driven deforestation rising or falling in India?
Over the last ten years it is up 36.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this India data come from?
The figures come from Global Forest Watch (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Agriculture-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).

About this data

Indicator
Agriculture-driven deforestation
Unit
hectares
Source
Global Forest Watch (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
187 places, 4,269 data points, 2001–2024
Last refreshed

Long-term, permanent tree cover loss for small- to large-scale agriculture.