Annual deforestation as a share of forest area in Democratic Republic of Congo
Democratic Republic of Congo: Annual deforestation as a share of forest area was 0.2% in 2020. ▼ Falling
Annual deforestation as a share of forest area in Democratic Republic of Congo, 1990–2020
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for annual deforestation as a share of forest area in Democratic Republic of Congo is 0.2%, measured in 2020.
The figure is down 70.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, annual deforestation as a share of forest area in Democratic Republic of Congo peaked at 0.7% in 2010 and was at its lowest, 0.2%, in 2015.
That places Democratic Republic of Congo 38th out of 105 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the middle of the range.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.4% | 1 |
| 2000s | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.4% | 1 |
| 2010s | 0.4% | 0.2% | 0.7% | 2 |
| 2020s | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Democratic Republic of Congo
More environment data for Democratic Republic of Congo
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 58.49 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 0.5353 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 3.5 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 7.67 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 17.49 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.0166 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 42.16 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.0035 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.024 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 13.45 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is annual deforestation as a share of forest area in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- Annual deforestation as a share of forest area in Democratic Republic of Congo was 0.2% in 2020, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest annual deforestation as a share of forest area recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- The highest recorded value was 0.7% in 2010.
- What is the lowest annual deforestation as a share of forest area recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.2% in 2015.
- How does Democratic Republic of Congo rank for annual deforestation as a share of forest area?
- Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 38th out of 105 countries with data for 2020.
- Is annual deforestation as a share of forest area rising or falling in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- Over the last ten years it is down 70.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Democratic Republic of Congo data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Annual deforestation as a share of forest area. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 5 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Annual deforestation as share of forest area represents the yearly percentage of forest area lost due to deforestation relative to the total forest area.