Share of land covered by forest in Cameroon
Cameroon: Share of land covered by forest was 40.5% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Share of land covered by forest in Cameroon, 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 Cameroon stood at 40.5%. That is the lowest value across all 36 years on record.
The figure is down 0.6% on the previous year and down 7.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of land covered by forest in Cameroon peaked at 47.6% in 1990 and was at its lowest, 40.5%, in 2025.
Cameroon ranks 81st of 216 countries on this measure, 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 Cameroon, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 47.6% | — |
| 1991 | 47.4% | -0.4% |
| 1992 | 47.2% | -0.4% |
| 1993 | 47.0% | -0.4% |
| 1994 | 46.8% | -0.4% |
| 1995 | 46.6% | -0.4% |
| 1996 | 46.5% | -0.4% |
| 1997 | 46.3% | -0.4% |
| 1998 | 46.1% | -0.4% |
| 1999 | 45.9% | -0.4% |
| 2000 | 45.7% | -0.4% |
| 2001 | 45.5% | -0.3% |
| 2002 | 45.4% | -0.3% |
| 2003 | 45.2% | -0.3% |
| 2004 | 45.1% | -0.3% |
| 2005 | 45.0% | -0.3% |
| 2006 | 44.8% | -0.3% |
| 2007 | 44.7% | -0.3% |
| 2008 | 44.5% | -0.3% |
| 2009 | 44.4% | -0.3% |
| 2010 | 44.2% | -0.3% |
| 2011 | 44.1% | -0.3% |
| 2012 | 44.0% | -0.3% |
| 2013 | 43.9% | -0.3% |
| 2014 | 43.7% | -0.3% |
| 2015 | 43.6% | -0.3% |
| 2016 | 43.2% | -0.9% |
| 2017 | 42.9% | -0.9% |
| 2018 | 42.5% | -0.9% |
| 2019 | 42.1% | -0.9% |
| 2020 | 41.7% | -0.9% |
| 2021 | 41.5% | -0.6% |
| 2022 | 41.2% | -0.6% |
| 2023 | 41.0% | -0.6% |
| 2024 | 40.7% | -0.6% |
| 2025 | 40.5% | -0.6% |
Cameroon compared with similar countries
- Cameroon's 40.5% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 25.2%, 1.6× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Cameroon's 40.5% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 22.0%, 1.8× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 46.7% | 45.9% | 47.6% | 10 |
| 2000s | 45.0% | 44.4% | 45.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 43.4% | 42.1% | 44.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 41.1% | 40.5% | 41.7% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Cameroon
- 78 Serbia 41.3% compare
- 79 Mozambique 41.0% compare
- 80 North Macedonia 40.7% compare
- 82 Slovakia 40.4% compare
- 83 Nicaragua 39.7% compare
- 84 New Zealand 39.1% compare
More environment data for Cameroon
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -8.11 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -7.68 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.211 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.15 °C (2025)
- Wood-based panels — Production, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.6539 % 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 0.4385 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of land covered by forest in Cameroon?
- Share of land covered by forest in Cameroon was 40.5% 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 Cameroon?
- The highest recorded value was 47.6% in 1990.
- What is the lowest share of land covered by forest recorded in Cameroon?
- The lowest recorded value was 40.5% in 2025.
- How does Cameroon rank for share of land covered by forest?
- Cameroon ranks 81st out of 216 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of land covered by forest rising or falling in Cameroon?
- Over the last ten years it is down 7.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Cameroon 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.