Exported deforestation in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka: Exported deforestation was 2,554 hectares in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
2,554 hectares
Change on year
down 43.8%
World rank
41st
of 178 countries
All-time high
6,018 hectares
in 2010
All-time low
2,315 hectares
in 2005
Years of data
19
2005–2023

Exported deforestation in Sri Lanka, 2005–2023

02.0k4.0k6.0k2005201420232005: 2.3k hectares2006: 3.0k hectares2007: 3.6k hectares2008: 3.6k hectares2009: 4.4k hectares2010: 6.0k hectares2011: 5.9k hectares2012: 5.1k hectares2013: 4.9k hectares2014: 4.3k hectares2015: 4.4k hectares2016: 5.0k hectares2017: 5.6k hectares2018: 4.7k hectares2019: 4.5k hectares2020: 3.9k hectares2021: 3.3k hectares2022: 4.5k hectares2023: 2.6k hectares

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

Analysis

Sri Lanka recorded 2,554 hectares for exported deforestation in 2023.

That represents a change of down 43.8% on the previous year and down 47.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, exported deforestation in Sri Lanka peaked at 6,018 hectares in 2010 and was at its lowest, 2,315 hectares, in 2005.

Sri Lanka ranks 41st of 178 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

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

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 3,375 hectares 2,315 hectares 4,369 hectares 5
2010s 5,033 hectares 4,334 hectares 6,018 hectares 10
2020s 3,564 hectares 2,554 hectares 4,542 hectares 4

Countries ranked near Sri Lanka

  1. 39 Guatemala 3,061 hectares compare
  2. 40 Malawi 2,697 hectares compare
  3. 42 Zambia 2,088 hectares compare
  4. 43 Gabon 2,069 hectares compare
  5. 44 Uruguay 1,896 hectares compare

See the full ranking of 178 places →

More environment data for Sri Lanka

All data for Sri Lanka →

Frequently asked questions

What is exported deforestation in Sri Lanka?
Exported deforestation in Sri Lanka was 2,554 hectares in 2023, according to Singh et al. (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest exported deforestation recorded in Sri Lanka?
The highest recorded value was 6,018 hectares in 2010.
What is the lowest exported deforestation recorded in Sri Lanka?
The lowest recorded value was 2,315 hectares in 2005.
How does Sri Lanka rank for exported deforestation?
Sri Lanka ranks 41st out of 178 countries with data for 2023.
Is exported deforestation rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
Over the last ten years it is down 47.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Sri Lanka 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.