Commodity driven deforestation in Malawi
Malawi: Commodity driven deforestation was 11,260 in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
11,260
Change on year
down 27.6%
World rank
44th
of 187 countries
All-time high
15,563
in 2023
All-time low
1,976
in 2001
Years of data
24
2001–2024
Commodity driven deforestation in Malawi, 2001–2024
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for commodity driven deforestation in Malawi is 11,260, measured in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 27.6% on the previous year and up 2.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, commodity driven deforestation in Malawi peaked at 15,563 in 2023 and was at its lowest, 1,976, in 2001.
That places Malawi 44th out of 187 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 24 years of available data.
Commodity driven deforestation in Malawi, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 1,976 | — |
| 2002 | 3,159 | +59.9% |
| 2003 | 5,556 | +75.9% |
| 2004 | 3,965 | -28.6% |
| 2005 | 7,584 | +91.3% |
| 2006 | 4,233 | -44.2% |
| 2007 | 5,403 | +27.6% |
| 2008 | 7,384 | +36.7% |
| 2009 | 3,016 | -59.2% |
| 2010 | 3,175 | +5.2% |
| 2011 | 5,985 | +88.5% |
| 2012 | 8,496 | +42.0% |
| 2013 | 5,842 | -31.2% |
| 2014 | 10,940 | +87.3% |
| 2015 | 5,712 | -47.8% |
| 2016 | 7,636 | +33.7% |
| 2017 | 9,255 | +21.2% |
| 2018 | 7,953 | -14.1% |
| 2019 | 6,880 | -13.5% |
| 2020 | 9,770 | +42.0% |
| 2021 | 10,117 | +3.6% |
| 2022 | 9,698 | -4.1% |
| 2023 | 15,563 | +60.5% |
| 2024 | 11,260 | -27.6% |
Malawi compared with similar countries
- Malawi's 11,260 is above the median for low income countries, which is 2,362, 4.8× the median. (24 countries reporting)
- Malawi's 11,260 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 3,723, 3.0× the median. (45 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 4,697 | 1,976 | 7,584 | 9 |
| 2010s | 7,187 | 3,175 | 10,940 | 10 |
| 2020s | 11,282 | 9,698 | 15,563 | 5 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
More environment data for Malawi
- Grazing land use over the long-term, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Grazing land use over the long-term, per unit of GDP 0.0001 hectares per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Grazing land use over the long-term, per capita 0.0833 hectares per person (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -0.9153 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -0.8098 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.254 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.07 °C (2025)
- Grazing land use over the long-term, per square kilometre 19.62 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 Malawi?
- Commodity driven deforestation in Malawi was 11,260 in 2024, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest commodity driven deforestation recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 15,563 in 2023.
- What is the lowest commodity driven deforestation recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 1,976 in 2001.
- How does Malawi rank for commodity driven deforestation?
- Malawi ranks 44th out of 187 countries with data for 2024.
- Is commodity driven deforestation rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Malawi 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).