Exported deforestation in India

India: Exported deforestation was 28,549 hectares in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
28,549 hectares
Change on year
down 4.3%
World rank
12th
of 178 countries
All-time high
50,648 hectares
in 2018
All-time low
17,373 hectares
in 2005
Years of data
19
2005–2023

Exported deforestation in India, 2005–2023

20.0k30.0k40.0k50.0k2005201420232005: 17.4k hectares2006: 17.7k hectares2007: 19.3k hectares2008: 22.7k hectares2009: 19.3k hectares2010: 19.7k hectares2011: 23.9k hectares2012: 25.4k hectares2013: 28.4k hectares2014: 32.1k hectares2015: 34.9k hectares2016: 41.4k hectares2017: 47.9k hectares2018: 50.6k hectares2019: 47.8k hectares2020: 45.3k hectares2021: 44.3k hectares2022: 29.8k hectares2023: 28.5k hectares

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

Analysis

The most recent figure for exported deforestation in India is 28,549 hectares, measured in 2023.

The figure is down 4.3% on the previous year and up 0.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, exported deforestation in India peaked at 50,648 hectares in 2018 and was at its lowest, 17,373 hectares, in 2005.

That places India 12th out of 178 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 19 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 19,282 hectares 17,373 hectares 22,691 hectares 5
2010s 35,218 hectares 19,681 hectares 50,648 hectares 10
2020s 37,010 hectares 28,549 hectares 45,315 hectares 4

Countries ranked near India

  1. 9 Malaysia 35,121 hectares compare
  2. 10 Bolivia 30,939 hectares compare
  3. 11 Myanmar 29,282 hectares compare
  4. 13 Peru 28,514 hectares compare
  5. 14 Ghana 23,815 hectares compare
  6. 15 Argentina 21,173 hectares compare

See the full ranking of 178 places →

More environment data for India

All data for India →

Frequently asked questions

What is exported deforestation in India?
Exported deforestation in India was 28,549 hectares in 2023, according to Singh et al. (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest exported deforestation recorded in India?
The highest recorded value was 50,648 hectares in 2018.
What is the lowest exported deforestation recorded in India?
The lowest recorded value was 17,373 hectares in 2005.
How does India rank for exported deforestation?
India ranks 12th out of 178 countries with data for 2023.
Is exported deforestation rising or falling in India?
Over the last ten years it is up 0.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this India data come from?
The figures come from Singh et al. (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Exported deforestation. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 19 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Exported deforestation
Unit
hectares
Source
Singh et al. (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
178 places, 3,320 data points, 2005–2023
Last refreshed

Exported deforestation is the amount of annual deforestation that is driven by the production of food and forestry products that are exported for consumption in other countries. This is measured in hectares.