Agriculture-driven deforestation in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Agriculture-driven deforestation was 11,126 hectares in 2024. ▲ Rising
Agriculture-driven deforestation in Sri Lanka, 2001–2024
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 Sri Lanka is 11,126 hectares, measured in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.5% on the previous year and up 0.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, agriculture-driven deforestation in Sri Lanka peaked at 15,543 hectares in 2016 and was at its lowest, 2,832 hectares, in 2003.
That places Sri Lanka 45th 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.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 5,620 hectares | 2,832 hectares | 12,340 hectares | 9 |
| 2010s | 10,433 hectares | 6,226 hectares | 15,543 hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 10,572 hectares | 7,802 hectares | 12,370 hectares | 5 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
More environment data for Sri Lanka
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 37.17 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 1.7 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 5.57 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 0.6851 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 0.0046 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.0737 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 11.12 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.0059 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.0632 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 4.72 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is agriculture-driven deforestation in Sri Lanka?
- Agriculture-driven deforestation in Sri Lanka was 11,126 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 Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 15,543 hectares in 2016.
- What is the lowest agriculture-driven deforestation recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 2,832 hectares in 2003.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for agriculture-driven deforestation?
- Sri Lanka ranks 45th out of 187 countries with data for 2024.
- Is agriculture-driven deforestation rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sri Lanka 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
Long-term, permanent tree cover loss for small- to large-scale agriculture.