Share of land covered by forest in Madagascar
Madagascar: Share of land covered by forest was 17.1% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Share of land covered by forest in Madagascar, 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 Madagascar stood at 17.1%. That is the lowest value across all 36 years on record.
That represents a change of down 1.2% on the previous year and down 11.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of land covered by forest in Madagascar peaked at 23.5% in 1990 and was at its lowest, 17.1%, in 2025.
That places Madagascar 142nd 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 Madagascar, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 23.5% | — |
| 1991 | 23.4% | -0.5% |
| 1992 | 23.3% | -0.5% |
| 1993 | 23.2% | -0.5% |
| 1994 | 23.1% | -0.5% |
| 1995 | 22.9% | -0.5% |
| 1996 | 22.8% | -0.5% |
| 1997 | 22.7% | -0.5% |
| 1998 | 22.6% | -0.5% |
| 1999 | 22.5% | -0.5% |
| 2000 | 22.4% | -0.5% |
| 2001 | 22.2% | -0.8% |
| 2002 | 22.0% | -0.8% |
| 2003 | 21.8% | -0.8% |
| 2004 | 21.6% | -0.8% |
| 2005 | 21.5% | -0.8% |
| 2006 | 21.3% | -0.9% |
| 2007 | 21.1% | -0.9% |
| 2008 | 20.9% | -0.9% |
| 2009 | 20.7% | -0.9% |
| 2010 | 20.5% | -0.9% |
| 2011 | 20.3% | -1.3% |
| 2012 | 20.0% | -1.4% |
| 2013 | 19.7% | -1.4% |
| 2014 | 19.4% | -1.4% |
| 2015 | 19.2% | -1.4% |
| 2016 | 19.0% | -1.1% |
| 2017 | 18.7% | -1.1% |
| 2018 | 18.5% | -1.1% |
| 2019 | 18.3% | -1.1% |
| 2020 | 18.1% | -1.1% |
| 2021 | 17.9% | -1.2% |
| 2022 | 17.7% | -1.2% |
| 2023 | 17.5% | -1.2% |
| 2024 | 17.3% | -1.2% |
| 2025 | 17.1% | -1.2% |
Madagascar compared with similar countries
- Madagascar's 17.1% is above the median for low income countries, which is 11.9%, 1.4× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Madagascar's 17.1% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 22.0%, 77% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 23.0% | 22.5% | 23.5% | 10 |
| 2000s | 21.5% | 20.7% | 22.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 19.4% | 18.3% | 20.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 17.6% | 17.1% | 18.1% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Madagascar
More environment data for Madagascar
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.297 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.17 °C (2025)
- Wood-based panels — Production, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.2369 % 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 -1.01 % 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)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of land covered by forest in Madagascar?
- Share of land covered by forest in Madagascar was 17.1% 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 Madagascar?
- The highest recorded value was 23.5% in 1990.
- What is the lowest share of land covered by forest recorded in Madagascar?
- The lowest recorded value was 17.1% in 2025.
- How does Madagascar rank for share of land covered by forest?
- Madagascar ranks 142nd out of 216 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of land covered by forest rising or falling in Madagascar?
- Over the last ten years it is down 11.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Madagascar 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.