Drivers of deforestation in Spain
Spain: Drivers of deforestation was 836.77 hectares in 2023. ▼ Falling
Drivers of deforestation in Spain, 2012–2023
Source: Singh et al. (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
Spain recorded 836.77 hectares for drivers of deforestation in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 10 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 39.8% on the previous year and down 35.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, drivers of deforestation in Spain peaked at 1,972 hectares in 2016 and was at its lowest, 836.77 hectares, in 2023.
Spain ranks 52nd of 166 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 10 years of available data.
Drivers of deforestation in Spain, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 1,298 hectares | — |
| 2015 | 1,087 hectares | -16.2% |
| 2016 | 1,972 hectares | +81.3% |
| 2017 | 1,457 hectares | -26.1% |
| 2018 | 1,813 hectares | +24.5% |
| 2019 | 1,049 hectares | -42.2% |
| 2020 | 1,941 hectares | +85.1% |
| 2021 | 1,144 hectares | -41.1% |
| 2022 | 1,389 hectares | +21.5% |
| 2023 | 836.77 hectares | -39.8% |
Spain compared with similar countries
- Spain's 836.77 hectares is above the median for high income countries, which is 69.88 hectares, 12.0× the median. (48 countries reporting)
- Spain's 836.77 hectares is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 59.76 hectares, 14.0× the median. (43 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 1,446 hectares | 1,049 hectares | 1,972 hectares | 6 |
| 2020s | 1,328 hectares | 836.77 hectares | 1,941 hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Spain
- 49 France 1,066 hectares compare
- 50 Russia 1,051 hectares compare
- 51 South Sudan 1,009 hectares compare
- 53 French Guiana 798.85 hectares
- 54 Sierra Leone 751.37 hectares compare
- 55 Guinea 622.32 hectares compare
More environment data for Spain
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -1.67 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -1.4 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.402 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 2.3 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual -0.4277 % 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 -0.5136 % 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 Spain?
- Drivers of deforestation in Spain was 836.77 hectares in 2023, according to Singh et al. (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest drivers of deforestation recorded in Spain?
- The highest recorded value was 1,972 hectares in 2016.
- What is the lowest drivers of deforestation recorded in Spain?
- The lowest recorded value was 836.77 hectares in 2023.
- How does Spain rank for drivers of deforestation?
- Spain ranks 52nd out of 166 countries with data for 2023.
- Is drivers of deforestation rising or falling in Spain?
- Over the last ten years it is down 35.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Spain 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 — 10 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.