Drivers of deforestation in Colombia
Colombia: Drivers of deforestation was 16,692 hectares in 2023. ▼ Falling
Drivers of deforestation in Colombia, 2001–2023
Source: Singh et al. (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
In 2023, drivers of deforestation in Colombia stood at 16,692 hectares. That is the lowest value across all 23 years on record.
That represents a change of down 70.9% on the previous year and down 47.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, drivers of deforestation in Colombia peaked at 137,871 hectares in 2007 and was at its lowest, 16,692 hectares, in 2023.
That places Colombia 18th out of 166 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 23 years of available data.
Drivers of deforestation in Colombia, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 64,003 hectares | — |
| 2002 | 80,528 hectares | +25.8% |
| 2003 | 47,617 hectares | -40.9% |
| 2004 | 123,883 hectares | +160.2% |
| 2005 | 90,531 hectares | -26.9% |
| 2006 | 83,382 hectares | -7.9% |
| 2007 | 137,871 hectares | +65.3% |
| 2008 | 55,604 hectares | -59.7% |
| 2009 | 51,511 hectares | -7.4% |
| 2010 | 91,485 hectares | +77.6% |
| 2011 | 92,789 hectares | +1.4% |
| 2012 | 89,433 hectares | -3.6% |
| 2013 | 31,898 hectares | -64.3% |
| 2014 | 45,445 hectares | +42.5% |
| 2015 | 28,439 hectares | -37.4% |
| 2016 | 51,509 hectares | +81.1% |
| 2017 | 89,089 hectares | +73.0% |
| 2018 | 103,498 hectares | +16.2% |
| 2019 | 54,383 hectares | -47.5% |
| 2020 | 86,930 hectares | +59.8% |
| 2021 | 60,751 hectares | -30.1% |
| 2022 | 57,327 hectares | -5.6% |
| 2023 | 16,692 hectares | -70.9% |
Colombia compared with similar countries
- Colombia's 16,692 hectares is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 74.69 hectares, 223.5× the median. (50 countries reporting)
- Colombia's 16,692 hectares is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 220.38 hectares, 75.7× the median. (33 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 81,659 hectares | 47,617 hectares | 137,871 hectares | 9 |
| 2010s | 67,797 hectares | 28,439 hectares | 103,498 hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 55,425 hectares | 16,692 hectares | 86,930 hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Colombia
More environment data for Colombia
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 0.4233 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 0.2774 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.267 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.59 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.9788 % 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 0.2077 % 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 drivers of deforestation in Colombia?
- Drivers of deforestation in Colombia was 16,692 hectares in 2023, according to Singh et al. (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest drivers of deforestation recorded in Colombia?
- The highest recorded value was 137,871 hectares in 2007.
- What is the lowest drivers of deforestation recorded in Colombia?
- The lowest recorded value was 16,692 hectares in 2023.
- How does Colombia rank for drivers of deforestation?
- Colombia ranks 18th out of 166 countries with data for 2023.
- Is drivers of deforestation rising or falling in Colombia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 47.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Colombia 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 — 23 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.