Share of land covered by forest in Malawi
Malawi: Share of land covered by forest was 21.5% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Share of land covered by forest in Malawi, 1990–2025
Source: Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (2013) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Malawi recorded 21.5% for share of land covered by forest in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 36 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 2.0% on the previous year and down 17.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of land covered by forest in Malawi peaked at 37.1% in 1990 and was at its lowest, 21.5%, in 2025.
Malawi ranks 131st 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 Malawi, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 37.1% | — |
| 1991 | 36.7% | -1.2% |
| 1992 | 36.3% | -1.2% |
| 1993 | 35.8% | -1.2% |
| 1994 | 35.4% | -1.2% |
| 1995 | 34.9% | -1.3% |
| 1996 | 34.5% | -1.3% |
| 1997 | 34.0% | -1.3% |
| 1998 | 33.6% | -1.3% |
| 1999 | 33.1% | -1.3% |
| 2000 | 32.7% | -1.3% |
| 2001 | 32.2% | -1.4% |
| 2002 | 31.8% | -1.4% |
| 2003 | 31.4% | -1.4% |
| 2004 | 30.9% | -1.4% |
| 2005 | 30.5% | -1.4% |
| 2006 | 30.0% | -1.5% |
| 2007 | 29.6% | -1.5% |
| 2008 | 29.1% | -1.5% |
| 2009 | 28.7% | -1.5% |
| 2010 | 28.2% | -1.6% |
| 2011 | 27.8% | -1.6% |
| 2012 | 27.3% | -1.6% |
| 2013 | 26.9% | -1.6% |
| 2014 | 26.4% | -1.7% |
| 2015 | 26.0% | -1.7% |
| 2016 | 25.6% | -1.7% |
| 2017 | 25.1% | -1.7% |
| 2018 | 24.7% | -1.8% |
| 2019 | 24.2% | -1.8% |
| 2020 | 23.8% | -1.8% |
| 2021 | 23.3% | -1.9% |
| 2022 | 22.9% | -1.9% |
| 2023 | 22.4% | -1.9% |
| 2024 | 22.0% | -2.0% |
| 2025 | 21.5% | -2.0% |
Malawi compared with similar countries
- Malawi's 21.5% is above the median for low income countries, which is 11.9%, 1.8× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Malawi's 21.5% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 22.0%, 98% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 35.1% | 33.1% | 37.1% | 10 |
| 2000s | 30.7% | 28.7% | 32.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 26.2% | 24.2% | 28.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 22.7% | 21.5% | 23.8% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
More environment data for Malawi
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -0.9153 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -0.8098 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.254 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.07 °C (2025)
- Wood-based panels — Production, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 3.65 % 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 5.3 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of land covered by forest in Malawi?
- Share of land covered by forest in Malawi was 21.5% 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 Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 37.1% in 1990.
- What is the lowest share of land covered by forest recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 21.5% in 2025.
- How does Malawi rank for share of land covered by forest?
- Malawi ranks 131st out of 216 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of land covered by forest rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is down 17.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Malawi 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.