Annual deforestation as a share of forest area in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Annual deforestation as a share of forest area was 0.2% in 2020. ▼ Falling
Annual deforestation as a share of forest area in Costa Rica, 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 Costa Rica is 0.2%, measured in 2020.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 56.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, annual deforestation as a share of forest area in Costa Rica peaked at 0.3% in 2010 and was at its lowest, 0.2%, in 2000.
Costa Rica ranks 43rd of 105 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 1 |
| 2000s | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 1 |
| 2010s | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.3% | 2 |
| 2020s | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
More environment data for Costa Rica
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 17.08 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 3.33 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 4.38 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 0.0273 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 0.0074 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.0131 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 6.38 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.0006 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.0288 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 1.92 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is annual deforestation as a share of forest area in Costa Rica?
- Annual deforestation as a share of forest area in Costa Rica 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 Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 0.3% in 2010.
- What is the lowest annual deforestation as a share of forest area recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.2% in 2000.
- How does Costa Rica rank for annual deforestation as a share of forest area?
- Costa Rica ranks 43rd out of 105 countries with data for 2020.
- Is annual deforestation as a share of forest area rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is down 56.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Costa Rica 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.