Share of land covered by forest in Botswana
Botswana: Share of land covered by forest was 27.8% in 2025. ▬ Flat
Latest (2025)
27.8%
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
118th
of 216 countries
All-time high
27.8%
in 2020
All-time low
27.8%
in 1990
Years of data
36
1990–2025
Share of land covered by forest in Botswana, 1990–2025
Source: Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (2013) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Botswana recorded 27.8% for share of land covered by forest in 2025. That is the highest value across all 36 years on record.
The figure is up 0.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of land covered by forest in Botswana peaked at 27.8% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 27.8%, in 1990.
That places Botswana 118th out of 216 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
Share of land covered by forest in Botswana, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 27.8% | — |
| 1991 | 27.8% | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 27.8% | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 27.8% | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 27.8% | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 27.8% | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 27.8% | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 27.8% | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 27.8% | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 27.8% | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 27.8% | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 27.8% | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 27.8% | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 27.8% | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 27.8% | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 27.8% | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 27.8% | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 27.8% | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 27.8% | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 27.8% | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 27.8% | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 27.8% | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 27.8% | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 27.8% | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 27.8% | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 27.8% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 27.8% | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 27.8% | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 27.8% | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 27.8% | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 27.8% | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 27.8% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 27.8% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 27.8% | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 27.8% | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 27.8% | +0.0% |
Botswana compared with similar countries
- Botswana's 27.8% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 35.5%, 78% of the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Botswana's 27.8% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 22.0%, 1.3× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 27.8% | 27.8% | 27.8% | 10 |
| 2000s | 27.8% | 27.8% | 27.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 27.8% | 27.8% | 27.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 27.8% | 27.8% | 27.8% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Botswana
More environment data for Botswana
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 6.04 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 6.49 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.381 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 0.443 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual -4.05 % 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 0.3323 % 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 share of land covered by forest in Botswana?
- Share of land covered by forest in Botswana was 27.8% in 2025, according to Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (2013) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of land covered by forest recorded in Botswana?
- The highest recorded value was 27.8% in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of land covered by forest recorded in Botswana?
- The lowest recorded value was 27.8% in 1990.
- How does Botswana rank for share of land covered by forest?
- Botswana ranks 118th out of 216 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of land covered by forest rising or falling in Botswana?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this Botswana data come from?
- The figures come from Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (2013) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of land covered by forest. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 36 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Share of land area covered by forest, including both natural forests and forest plantations.