Deforestation embedded in trade in India

India: Deforestation embedded in trade was 27,148 hectares in 2023. ▼ Falling

Latest (2023)
27,148 hectares
Change on year
down 21.8%
World rank
8th
of 178 countries
All-time high
110,649 hectares
in 2014
All-time low
19,028 hectares
in 2019
Years of data
19
2005–2023

Deforestation embedded in trade in India, 2005–2023

20.0k40.0k60.0k80.0k100.0k120.0k2005201420232005: 48.0k hectares2006: 53.0k hectares2007: 80.6k hectares2008: 86.8k hectares2009: 98.2k hectares2010: 88.8k hectares2011: 84.1k hectares2012: 103.7k hectares2013: 66.6k hectares2014: 110.6k hectares2015: 100.3k hectares2016: 85.7k hectares2017: 48.6k hectares2018: 25.3k hectares2019: 19.0k hectares2020: 36.1k hectares2021: 41.7k hectares2022: 34.7k hectares2023: 27.1k hectares

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

Analysis

India recorded 27,148 hectares for deforestation embedded in trade in 2023.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 21.8% on the previous year and down 59.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, deforestation embedded in trade in India peaked at 110,649 hectares in 2014 and was at its lowest, 19,028 hectares, in 2019.

That places India 8th out of 178 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top 10%.

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

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 73,347 hectares 48,030 hectares 98,235 hectares 5
2010s 73,278 hectares 19,028 hectares 110,649 hectares 10
2020s 34,898 hectares 27,148 hectares 41,652 hectares 4

Countries ranked near India

  1. 5 United Kingdom 29,101 hectares compare
  2. 6 France 27,984 hectares compare
  3. 7 South Korea 27,726 hectares compare
  4. 9 Italy 21,684 hectares compare
  5. 10 Russia 21,570 hectares compare
  6. 11 Spain 19,805 hectares compare

See the full ranking of 178 places →

More environment data for India

All data for India →

Frequently asked questions

What is deforestation embedded in trade in India?
Deforestation embedded in trade in India was 27,148 hectares in 2023, according to Singh et al. (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest deforestation embedded in trade recorded in India?
The highest recorded value was 110,649 hectares in 2014.
What is the lowest deforestation embedded in trade recorded in India?
The lowest recorded value was 19,028 hectares in 2019.
How does India rank for deforestation embedded in trade?
India ranks 8th out of 178 countries with data for 2023.
Is deforestation embedded in trade rising or falling in India?
Over the last ten years it is down 59.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this India data come from?
The figures come from Singh et al. (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Deforestation embedded in trade. 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
Deforestation embedded in trade
Unit
hectares
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

Deforestation driven by imported goods minus exported goods from agriculture and forest plantations. Net importers of deforestation are countries who contribute to net deforestation in other countries – the deforestation that they cause in other countries is given as a positive value.