Deforestation embedded in trade in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia: Deforestation embedded in trade was 9,760 hectares in 2023. ▼ Falling

Latest (2023)
9,760 hectares
Change on year
down 15.0%
World rank
18th
of 178 countries
All-time high
36,145 hectares
in 2012
All-time low
9,760 hectares
in 2023
Years of data
19
2005–2023

Deforestation embedded in trade in Saudi Arabia, 2005–2023

10.0k20.0k30.0k40.0k2005201420232005: 17.3k hectares2006: 19.9k hectares2007: 20.0k hectares2008: 23.2k hectares2009: 30.2k hectares2010: 23.3k hectares2011: 27.7k hectares2012: 36.1k hectares2013: 31.0k hectares2014: 27.0k hectares2015: 22.1k hectares2016: 21.4k hectares2017: 19.1k hectares2018: 17.8k hectares2019: 17.9k hectares2020: 13.1k hectares2021: 10.4k hectares2022: 11.5k hectares2023: 9.8k hectares

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

Analysis

Saudi Arabia recorded 9,760 hectares for deforestation embedded in trade in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 19 years on record.

That represents a change of down 15.0% on the previous year and down 68.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, deforestation embedded in trade in Saudi Arabia peaked at 36,145 hectares in 2012 and was at its lowest, 9,760 hectares, in 2023.

That places Saudi Arabia 18th 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 22,140 hectares 17,295 hectares 30,163 hectares 5
2010s 24,337 hectares 17,786 hectares 36,145 hectares 10
2020s 11,170 hectares 9,760 hectares 13,082 hectares 4

Countries ranked near Saudi Arabia

  1. 15 Australia 16,518 hectares compare
  2. 16 Turkey 11,408 hectares compare
  3. 17 Iran 10,074 hectares compare
  4. 19 Singapore 9,745 hectares compare
  5. 20 United Arab Emirates 8,400 hectares compare
  6. 21 Egypt 8,300 hectares compare

See the full ranking of 178 places →

More environment data for Saudi Arabia

All data for Saudi Arabia →

Frequently asked questions

What is deforestation embedded in trade in Saudi Arabia?
Deforestation embedded in trade in Saudi Arabia was 9,760 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 Saudi Arabia?
The highest recorded value was 36,145 hectares in 2012.
What is the lowest deforestation embedded in trade recorded in Saudi Arabia?
The lowest recorded value was 9,760 hectares in 2023.
How does Saudi Arabia rank for deforestation embedded in trade?
Saudi Arabia ranks 18th out of 178 countries with data for 2023.
Is deforestation embedded in trade rising or falling in Saudi Arabia?
Over the last ten years it is down 68.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Saudi Arabia 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.