Deforestation embedded in trade in United Kingdom

United Kingdom: Deforestation embedded in trade was 29,101 hectares in 2023. ▼ Falling

Latest (2023)
29,101 hectares
Change on year
down 4.7%
World rank
5th
of 178 countries
All-time high
63,708 hectares
in 2007
All-time low
29,101 hectares
in 2023
Years of data
19
2005–2023

Deforestation embedded in trade in United Kingdom, 2005–2023

020.0k40.0k60.0k2005201420232005: 63.3k hectares2006: 60.1k hectares2007: 63.7k hectares2008: 58.5k hectares2009: 49.1k hectares2010: 45.2k hectares2011: 46.3k hectares2012: 46.8k hectares2013: 43.5k hectares2014: 43.6k hectares2015: 43.1k hectares2016: 46.9k hectares2017: 47.2k hectares2018: 48.0k hectares2019: 49.7k hectares2020: 36.2k hectares2021: 33.4k hectares2022: 30.5k hectares2023: 29.1k hectares

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

Analysis

In 2023, deforestation embedded in trade in United Kingdom stood at 29,101 hectares. That is the lowest value across all 19 years on record.

The figure is down 4.7% on the previous year and down 33.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, deforestation embedded in trade in United Kingdom peaked at 63,708 hectares in 2007 and was at its lowest, 29,101 hectares, in 2023.

That places United Kingdom 5th 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 58,932 hectares 49,074 hectares 63,708 hectares 5
2010s 46,020 hectares 43,052 hectares 49,652 hectares 10
2020s 32,312 hectares 29,101 hectares 36,232 hectares 4

Countries ranked near United Kingdom

  1. 2 China 144,628 hectares compare
  2. 3 Germany 47,928 hectares compare
  3. 4 Japan 44,879 hectares compare
  4. 6 France 27,984 hectares compare
  5. 7 South Korea 27,726 hectares compare
  6. 8 India 27,148 hectares compare

See the full ranking of 178 places →

More environment data for United Kingdom

All data for United Kingdom →

Frequently asked questions

What is deforestation embedded in trade in United Kingdom?
Deforestation embedded in trade in United Kingdom was 29,101 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 United Kingdom?
The highest recorded value was 63,708 hectares in 2007.
What is the lowest deforestation embedded in trade recorded in United Kingdom?
The lowest recorded value was 29,101 hectares in 2023.
How does United Kingdom rank for deforestation embedded in trade?
United Kingdom ranks 5th out of 178 countries with data for 2023.
Is deforestation embedded in trade rising or falling in United Kingdom?
Over the last ten years it is down 33.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this United Kingdom 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.