Share of land covered by forest in Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso: Share of land covered by forest was 11.8% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Share of land covered by forest in Burkina Faso, 1990–2025
Source: Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (2013) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2025, share of land covered by forest in Burkina Faso stood at 11.8%. That is the lowest value across all 36 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 3.6% on the previous year and down 27.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of land covered by forest in Burkina Faso peaked at 30.3% in 1990 and was at its lowest, 11.8%, in 2025.
That places Burkina Faso 161st out of 216 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 36 years of available data.
Share of land covered by forest in Burkina Faso, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 30.3% | — |
| 1991 | 29.6% | -2.3% |
| 1992 | 28.9% | -2.4% |
| 1993 | 28.2% | -2.4% |
| 1994 | 27.5% | -2.5% |
| 1995 | 26.8% | -2.6% |
| 1996 | 26.1% | -2.6% |
| 1997 | 25.4% | -2.7% |
| 1998 | 24.7% | -2.8% |
| 1999 | 24.0% | -2.8% |
| 2000 | 23.3% | -2.9% |
| 2001 | 22.8% | -2.1% |
| 2002 | 22.3% | -2.2% |
| 2003 | 21.8% | -2.2% |
| 2004 | 21.3% | -2.2% |
| 2005 | 20.9% | -2.3% |
| 2006 | 20.4% | -2.4% |
| 2007 | 19.9% | -2.4% |
| 2008 | 19.4% | -2.5% |
| 2009 | 18.9% | -2.5% |
| 2010 | 18.4% | -2.6% |
| 2011 | 18.0% | -2.4% |
| 2012 | 17.5% | -2.4% |
| 2013 | 17.1% | -2.5% |
| 2014 | 16.6% | -2.6% |
| 2015 | 16.2% | -2.6% |
| 2016 | 15.8% | -2.7% |
| 2017 | 15.3% | -2.8% |
| 2018 | 14.9% | -2.9% |
| 2019 | 14.5% | -2.9% |
| 2020 | 14.0% | -3.0% |
| 2021 | 13.6% | -3.1% |
| 2022 | 13.1% | -3.2% |
| 2023 | 12.7% | -3.3% |
| 2024 | 12.3% | -3.4% |
| 2025 | 11.8% | -3.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 27.2% | 24.0% | 30.3% | 10 |
| 2000s | 21.1% | 18.9% | 23.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 16.4% | 14.5% | 18.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 12.9% | 11.8% | 14.0% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Burkina Faso
More environment data for Burkina Faso
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -7.27 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -7.18 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.331 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.25 °C (2025)
- Paper and paperboard — Import quantity, annual growth rate 0.2778 % change on previous year (2024)
- Paper and paperboard — Import quantity, per unit of GDP 0 t per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Paper and paperboard — Import quantity, per capita 0.0005 t per person (2024)
- Paper and paperboard — Import value, annual growth rate -3.82 % change on previous year (2024)
- Paper and paperboard — Import value, per unit of GDP 0 1000 USD per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of land covered by forest in Burkina Faso?
- Share of land covered by forest in Burkina Faso was 11.8% 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 Burkina Faso?
- The highest recorded value was 30.3% in 1990.
- What is the lowest share of land covered by forest recorded in Burkina Faso?
- The lowest recorded value was 11.8% in 2025.
- How does Burkina Faso rank for share of land covered by forest?
- Burkina Faso ranks 161st out of 216 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of land covered by forest rising or falling in Burkina Faso?
- Over the last ten years it is down 27.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Burkina Faso 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.
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About this data
Share of land area covered by forest, including both natural forests and forest plantations.