Drivers of deforestation in Australia
Australia: Drivers of deforestation was 4,457 hectares in 2023. ▼ Falling
Drivers of deforestation in Australia, 2004–2023
Source: Singh et al. (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
Australia recorded 4,457 hectares for drivers of deforestation in 2023.
That represents a change of down 8.2% on the previous year and down 38.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, drivers of deforestation in Australia peaked at 12,707 hectares in 2016 and was at its lowest, 432.95 hectares, in 2008.
Australia ranks 35th of 166 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 10 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 6,254 hectares | 432.95 hectares | 12,074 hectares | 2 |
| 2010s | 8,809 hectares | 7,188 hectares | 12,707 hectares | 4 |
| 2020s | 5,190 hectares | 4,457 hectares | 6,275 hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Australia
More environment data for Australia
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 591.45 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 21.75 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 84.7 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 0.4769 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 43.21 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.1578 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 144.58 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.104 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.1978 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 15.7 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is drivers of deforestation in Australia?
- Drivers of deforestation in Australia was 4,457 hectares in 2023, according to Singh et al. (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest drivers of deforestation recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 12,707 hectares in 2016.
- What is the lowest drivers of deforestation recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 432.95 hectares in 2008.
- How does Australia rank for drivers of deforestation?
- Australia ranks 35th out of 166 countries with data for 2023.
- Is drivers of deforestation rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 38.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from Singh et al. (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Drivers of deforestation. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 10 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Estimates of commodity-driven deforestation, measured in hectares per year. This includes deforestation caused by the production of agricultural products and forestry, which account for approximately 90% of the world's deforestation.