Annual deforestation as a share of forest area in Malawi
Malawi: Annual deforestation as a share of forest area was 1.9% in 2020. ▲ Rising
Annual deforestation as a share of forest area in Malawi, 1990–2020
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2020, annual deforestation as a share of forest area in Malawi stood at 1.9%. That is the highest value across all 5 years on record.
The figure is up 18.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, annual deforestation as a share of forest area in Malawi peaked at 1.9% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 1.2%, in 1990.
That places Malawi 5th out of 105 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the top 10%.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 1.2% | 1.2% | 1.2% | 1 |
| 2000s | 1.4% | 1.4% | 1.4% | 1 |
| 2010s | 1.6% | 1.6% | 1.7% | 2 |
| 2020s | 1.9% | 1.9% | 1.9% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
More environment data for Malawi
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 19.02 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 0.8785 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 5.42 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 0.7527 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 1.9 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.0074 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 9.34 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.0006 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.0087 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 1.25 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is annual deforestation as a share of forest area in Malawi?
- Annual deforestation as a share of forest area in Malawi was 1.9% 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 Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 1.9% in 2020.
- What is the lowest annual deforestation as a share of forest area recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.2% in 1990.
- How does Malawi rank for annual deforestation as a share of forest area?
- Malawi ranks 5th out of 105 countries with data for 2020.
- Is annual deforestation as a share of forest area rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is up 18.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Malawi 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.