Annual deforestation as a share of forest area in Somalia
Somalia: Annual deforestation as a share of forest area was 1.5% in 2020. ▲ Rising
Annual deforestation as a share of forest area in Somalia, 1990–2020
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Somalia recorded 1.5% for annual deforestation as a share of forest area in 2020.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 35.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, annual deforestation as a share of forest area in Somalia peaked at 2.6% in 2015 and was at its lowest, 0.9%, in 1990.
Somalia ranks 10th of 105 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
Annual deforestation as a share of forest area in Somalia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 0.9% | — |
| 2000 | 1.0% | +10.2% |
| 2010 | 2.3% | +122.7% |
| 2015 | 2.6% | +12.9% |
| 2020 | 1.5% | -42.6% |
Somalia compared with similar countries
- Somalia's 1.5% is above the median for low income countries, which is 1.2%, 1.2× the median. (14 countries reporting)
- Somalia's 1.5% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.6%, 2.4× the median. (27 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 0.9% | 0.9% | 0.9% | 1 |
| 2000s | 1.0% | 1.0% | 1.0% | 1 |
| 2010s | 2.4% | 2.3% | 2.6% | 2 |
| 2020s | 1.5% | 1.5% | 1.5% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Somalia
- 7 Saint Pierre and Miquelon 1.7% compare
- 8 Uganda 1.5% compare
- 9 Netherlands 1.5% compare
- 11 Paraguay 1.4% compare
- 12 Guinea 1.3% compare
- 13 Madagascar 1.3% compare
More environment data for Somalia
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -28.64 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -24.06 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.278 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.53 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.5029 % 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 -0.1376 % 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 Somalia?
- Annual deforestation as a share of forest area in Somalia was 1.5% 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 Somalia?
- The highest recorded value was 2.6% in 2015.
- What is the lowest annual deforestation as a share of forest area recorded in Somalia?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.9% in 1990.
- How does Somalia rank for annual deforestation as a share of forest area?
- Somalia ranks 10th out of 105 countries with data for 2020.
- Is annual deforestation as a share of forest area rising or falling in Somalia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 35.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Somalia 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.