Drivers of deforestation in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea: Drivers of deforestation was 4,645 hectares in 2023. ▼ Falling
Drivers of deforestation in Papua New Guinea, 2001–2023
Source: Singh et al. (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
The most recent figure for drivers of deforestation in Papua New Guinea is 4,645 hectares, measured in 2023.
The figure is down 9.9% on the previous year and down 29.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, drivers of deforestation in Papua New Guinea peaked at 9,766 hectares in 2014 and was at its lowest, 2,401 hectares, in 2010.
That places Papua New Guinea 33rd 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 Papua New Guinea, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 4,916 hectares | — |
| 2002 | 7,641 hectares | +55.4% |
| 2003 | 4,504 hectares | -41.1% |
| 2004 | 4,758 hectares | +5.6% |
| 2005 | 2,677 hectares | -43.7% |
| 2006 | 4,807 hectares | +79.5% |
| 2007 | 4,823 hectares | +0.3% |
| 2008 | 8,085 hectares | +67.6% |
| 2009 | 5,564 hectares | -31.2% |
| 2010 | 2,401 hectares | -56.8% |
| 2011 | 2,977 hectares | +24.0% |
| 2012 | 8,214 hectares | +175.9% |
| 2013 | 6,619 hectares | -19.4% |
| 2014 | 9,766 hectares | +47.5% |
| 2015 | 4,888 hectares | -50.0% |
| 2016 | 5,678 hectares | +16.2% |
| 2017 | 2,832 hectares | -50.1% |
| 2018 | 2,943 hectares | +3.9% |
| 2019 | 3,501 hectares | +19.0% |
| 2020 | 4,170 hectares | +19.1% |
| 2021 | 4,610 hectares | +10.5% |
| 2022 | 5,156 hectares | +11.9% |
| 2023 | 4,645 hectares | -9.9% |
Papua New Guinea compared with similar countries
- Papua New Guinea's 4,645 hectares is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 225.28 hectares, 20.6× the median. (43 countries reporting)
- Papua New Guinea's 4,645 hectares is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 4,457 hectares, 1.0× the median. (21 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 5,308 hectares | 2,677 hectares | 8,085 hectares | 9 |
| 2010s | 4,982 hectares | 2,401 hectares | 9,766 hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 4,645 hectares | 4,170 hectares | 5,156 hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Papua New Guinea
More environment data for Papua New Guinea
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 1.56 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 2.24 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.183 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 0.834 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.9266 % 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 0.6032 % 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 Papua New Guinea?
- Drivers of deforestation in Papua New Guinea was 4,645 hectares in 2023, according to Singh et al. (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest drivers of deforestation recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The highest recorded value was 9,766 hectares in 2014.
- What is the lowest drivers of deforestation recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The lowest recorded value was 2,401 hectares in 2010.
- How does Papua New Guinea rank for drivers of deforestation?
- Papua New Guinea ranks 33rd out of 166 countries with data for 2023.
- Is drivers of deforestation rising or falling in Papua New Guinea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 29.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Papua New Guinea 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.