Drivers of deforestation in Colombia

Colombia: Drivers of deforestation was 16,692 hectares in 2023. ▼ Falling

Latest (2023)
16,692 hectares
Change on year
down 70.9%
World rank
18th
of 166 countries
All-time high
137,871 hectares
in 2007
All-time low
16,692 hectares
in 2023
Years of data
23
2001–2023

Drivers of deforestation in Colombia, 2001–2023

25.0k50.0k75.0k100.0k125.0k150.0k2001201220232001: 64.0k hectares2002: 80.5k hectares2003: 47.6k hectares2004: 123.9k hectares2005: 90.5k hectares2006: 83.4k hectares2007: 137.9k hectares2008: 55.6k hectares2009: 51.5k hectares2010: 91.5k hectares2011: 92.8k hectares2012: 89.4k hectares2013: 31.9k hectares2014: 45.4k hectares2015: 28.4k hectares2016: 51.5k hectares2017: 89.1k hectares2018: 103.5k hectares2019: 54.4k hectares2020: 86.9k hectares2021: 60.8k hectares2022: 57.3k hectares2023: 16.7k hectares

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.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest 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

  1. 15 Malaysia 22,099 hectares compare
  2. 16 Mozambique 21,379 hectares compare
  3. 17 Laos 18,937 hectares compare
  4. 19 Thailand 16,122 hectares compare
  5. 20 Zambia 14,602 hectares compare
  6. 21 Ghana 12,186 hectares compare

See the full ranking of 166 places →

More environment data for Colombia

All data for Colombia →

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

Indicator
Drivers of deforestation
Unit
hectares
Source
Singh et al. (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
166 places, 2,829 data points, 2001–2023
Last refreshed

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.