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.
Annual deforestation as a share of forest area in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 0.3% | — |
| 2000 | 0.2% | -55.1% |
| 2010 | 0.3% | +130.2% |
| 2015 | 0.2% | -56.3% |
| 2020 | 0.2% | -0.6% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's 0.2% is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.0%, 9.9× the median. (42 countries reporting)
- Costa Rica's 0.2% is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 0.2%, 98% of the median. (21 countries reporting)
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
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 2.9 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 2.71 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.257 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.61 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 2.09 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), annual growth rate -0.3048 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (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.