Consumption-based deforestation per person in Australia

Australia: Consumption-based deforestation per person was 8.57 square meters in 2023. ▼ Falling

Latest (2023)
8.57 square meters
Change on year
down 6.6%
World rank
41st
of 178 countries
All-time high
25.6 square meters
in 2008
All-time low
8.57 square meters
in 2023
Years of data
19
2005–2023

Consumption-based deforestation per person in Australia, 2005–2023

101520252005201420232005: 22.7 square meters2006: 23.3 square meters2007: 25.5 square meters2008: 25.6 square meters2009: 22 square meters2010: 21.2 square meters2011: 20.7 square meters2012: 18.8 square meters2013: 15.2 square meters2014: 12.3 square meters2015: 10.2 square meters2016: 11.3 square meters2017: 12.3 square meters2018: 11.9 square meters2019: 10.5 square meters2020: 9.3 square meters2021: 8.7 square meters2022: 9.2 square meters2023: 8.6 square meters

Source: Singh et al. (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in square meters.

Analysis

Australia recorded 8.57 square meters for consumption-based deforestation per person in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 19 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 6.6% on the previous year and down 43.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, consumption-based deforestation per person in Australia peaked at 25.6 square meters in 2008 and was at its lowest, 8.57 square meters, in 2023.

Australia ranks 41st of 178 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 19 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 23.83 square meters 22 square meters 25.6 square meters 5
2010s 14.44 square meters 10.18 square meters 21.19 square meters 10
2020s 8.94 square meters 8.57 square meters 9.29 square meters 4

Countries ranked near Australia

  1. 38 Djibouti 8.97 square meters compare
  2. 39 Jamaica 8.71 square meters compare
  3. 40 Guatemala 8.7 square meters compare
  4. 42 Norway 8.41 square meters compare
  5. 44 United Arab Emirates 7.89 square meters compare

See the full ranking of 178 places →

More environment data for Australia

All data for Australia →

Frequently asked questions

What is consumption-based deforestation per person in Australia?
Consumption-based deforestation per person in Australia was 8.57 square meters in 2023, according to Singh et al. (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest consumption-based deforestation per person recorded in Australia?
The highest recorded value was 25.6 square meters in 2008.
What is the lowest consumption-based deforestation per person recorded in Australia?
The lowest recorded value was 8.57 square meters in 2023.
How does Australia rank for consumption-based deforestation per person?
Australia ranks 41st out of 178 countries with data for 2023.
Is consumption-based deforestation per person rising or falling in Australia?
Over the last ten years it is down 43.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Australia data come from?
The figures come from Singh et al. (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Consumption-based deforestation per person. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 19 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Consumption-based deforestation per person
Unit
square meters
Source
Singh et al. (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
178 places, 3,320 data points, 2005–2023
Last refreshed

Estimated average deforestation for agricultural and forestry products, per person. This is adjusted for trade, so it reflects deforestation caused by consumption, not domestic production.