Drivers of deforestation in Madagascar

Madagascar: Drivers of deforestation was 28,080 hectares in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
28,080 hectares
Change on year
down 15.4%
World rank
10th
of 166 countries
All-time high
35,858 hectares
in 2007
All-time low
4,141 hectares
in 2011
Years of data
23
2001–2023

Drivers of deforestation in Madagascar, 2001–2023

010.0k20.0k30.0k40.0k2001201220232001: 18.9k hectares2002: 20.2k hectares2003: 22.5k hectares2004: 16.5k hectares2005: 25.3k hectares2006: 25.0k hectares2007: 35.9k hectares2008: 28.6k hectares2009: 19.4k hectares2010: 4.9k hectares2011: 4.1k hectares2012: 6.6k hectares2013: 5.9k hectares2014: 14.7k hectares2015: 15.6k hectares2016: 21.2k hectares2017: 17.7k hectares2018: 20.4k hectares2019: 20.9k hectares2020: 25.3k hectares2021: 25.8k hectares2022: 33.2k hectares2023: 28.1k hectares

Source: Singh et al. (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.

Analysis

Madagascar recorded 28,080 hectares for drivers of deforestation in 2023.

The figure is down 15.4% on the previous year and up 377.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, drivers of deforestation in Madagascar peaked at 35,858 hectares in 2007 and was at its lowest, 4,141 hectares, in 2011.

Madagascar ranks 10th of 166 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 23 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 23,592 hectares 16,549 hectares 35,858 hectares 9
2010s 13,193 hectares 4,141 hectares 21,168 hectares 10
2020s 28,080 hectares 25,251 hectares 33,204 hectares 4

Countries ranked near Madagascar

  1. 7 United States 39,492 hectares compare
  2. 8 Mexico 32,952 hectares compare
  3. 9 Argentina 31,700 hectares compare
  4. 11 China 26,740 hectares compare
  5. 12 Myanmar 25,925 hectares compare
  6. 13 Vietnam 24,559 hectares compare

See the full ranking of 166 places →

More environment data for Madagascar

All data for Madagascar →

Frequently asked questions

What is drivers of deforestation in Madagascar?
Drivers of deforestation in Madagascar was 28,080 hectares in 2023, according to Singh et al. (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest drivers of deforestation recorded in Madagascar?
The highest recorded value was 35,858 hectares in 2007.
What is the lowest drivers of deforestation recorded in Madagascar?
The lowest recorded value was 4,141 hectares in 2011.
How does Madagascar rank for drivers of deforestation?
Madagascar ranks 10th out of 166 countries with data for 2023.
Is drivers of deforestation rising or falling in Madagascar?
Over the last ten years it is up 377.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Madagascar 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.