Exported deforestation in United States
United States: Exported deforestation was 7,443 hectares in 2023. ▼ Falling
Exported deforestation in United States, 2005–2023
Source: Singh et al. (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
United States recorded 7,443 hectares for exported deforestation in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 19 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 23.0% on the previous year and down 85.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, exported deforestation in United States peaked at 80,315 hectares in 2008 and was at its lowest, 7,443 hectares, in 2023.
That places United States 26th out of 178 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 19 years of available data.
Exported deforestation in United States, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 66,246 hectares | — |
| 2006 | 72,381 hectares | +9.3% |
| 2007 | 72,530 hectares | +0.2% |
| 2008 | 80,315 hectares | +10.7% |
| 2009 | 68,621 hectares | -14.6% |
| 2010 | 70,523 hectares | +2.8% |
| 2011 | 67,245 hectares | -4.6% |
| 2012 | 57,348 hectares | -14.7% |
| 2013 | 50,850 hectares | -11.3% |
| 2014 | 61,689 hectares | +21.3% |
| 2015 | 66,540 hectares | +7.9% |
| 2016 | 71,729 hectares | +7.8% |
| 2017 | 61,678 hectares | -14.0% |
| 2018 | 53,069 hectares | -14.0% |
| 2019 | 37,043 hectares | -30.2% |
| 2020 | 21,138 hectares | -42.9% |
| 2021 | 10,354 hectares | -51.0% |
| 2022 | 9,665 hectares | -6.7% |
| 2023 | 7,443 hectares | -23.0% |
United States compared with similar countries
- United States's 7,443 hectares is above the median for high income countries, which is 40.55 hectares, 183.6× the median. (59 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 72,019 hectares | 66,246 hectares | 80,315 hectares | 5 |
| 2010s | 59,771 hectares | 37,043 hectares | 71,729 hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 12,150 hectares | 7,443 hectares | 21,138 hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near United States
More environment data for United States
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -2.64 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -2.16 Percentage change (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.3672 % 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 -0.624 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) (Mt CO2e), annual 0.1269 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) (Mt CO2e), per unit of 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is exported deforestation in United States?
- Exported deforestation in United States was 7,443 hectares in 2023, according to Singh et al. (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest exported deforestation recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 80,315 hectares in 2008.
- What is the lowest exported deforestation recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 7,443 hectares in 2023.
- How does United States rank for exported deforestation?
- United States ranks 26th out of 178 countries with data for 2023.
- Is exported deforestation rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is down 85.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this United States 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
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.