Drivers of deforestation in Nepal
Nepal: Drivers of deforestation was 544.22 hectares in 2023. ▼ Falling
Drivers of deforestation in Nepal, 2001–2023
Source: Singh et al. (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
Nepal recorded 544.22 hectares for drivers of deforestation in 2023.
That represents a change of up 72.8% on the previous year and up 2.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, drivers of deforestation in Nepal peaked at 1,626 hectares in 2012 and was at its lowest, 196.19 hectares, in 2015.
Nepal ranks 58th of 166 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 23 years of available data.
Drivers of deforestation in Nepal, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 654.6 hectares | — |
| 2002 | 839.97 hectares | +28.3% |
| 2003 | 917.23 hectares | +9.2% |
| 2004 | 1,043 hectares | +13.7% |
| 2005 | 1,138 hectares | +9.1% |
| 2006 | 1,390 hectares | +22.1% |
| 2007 | 1,277 hectares | -8.1% |
| 2008 | 1,074 hectares | -15.9% |
| 2009 | 1,385 hectares | +29.0% |
| 2010 | 972.83 hectares | -29.8% |
| 2011 | 983.23 hectares | +1.1% |
| 2012 | 1,626 hectares | +65.3% |
| 2013 | 529.4 hectares | -67.4% |
| 2014 | 675.71 hectares | +27.6% |
| 2015 | 196.19 hectares | -71.0% |
| 2016 | 259.56 hectares | +32.3% |
| 2017 | 288.02 hectares | +11.0% |
| 2018 | 429.29 hectares | +49.0% |
| 2019 | 734.85 hectares | +71.2% |
| 2020 | 951.72 hectares | +29.5% |
| 2021 | 1,139 hectares | +19.7% |
| 2022 | 314.98 hectares | -72.3% |
| 2023 | 544.22 hectares | +72.8% |
Nepal compared with similar countries
- Nepal's 544.22 hectares is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 225.28 hectares, 2.4× the median. (43 countries reporting)
- Nepal's 544.22 hectares is above the median for South Asia, which is 55.79 hectares, 9.8× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 1,080 hectares | 654.6 hectares | 1,390 hectares | 9 |
| 2010s | 669.49 hectares | 196.19 hectares | 1,626 hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 737.45 hectares | 314.98 hectares | 1,139 hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Nepal
More environment data for Nepal
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 2.73 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 2.41 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.265 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.43 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual -1.54 % 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 -6.53 % 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 Nepal?
- Drivers of deforestation in Nepal was 544.22 hectares in 2023, according to Singh et al. (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest drivers of deforestation recorded in Nepal?
- The highest recorded value was 1,626 hectares in 2012.
- What is the lowest drivers of deforestation recorded in Nepal?
- The lowest recorded value was 196.19 hectares in 2015.
- How does Nepal rank for drivers of deforestation?
- Nepal ranks 58th out of 166 countries with data for 2023.
- Is drivers of deforestation rising or falling in Nepal?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Nepal 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.