Share of land covered by forest in Rwanda
Rwanda: Share of land covered by forest was 25.7% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Share of land covered by forest in Rwanda, 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 Rwanda stood at 25.7%. That is the highest value across all 36 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.3% on the previous year and up 29.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of land covered by forest in Rwanda peaked at 25.7% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 16.6%, in 2000.
That places Rwanda 119th out of 216 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 36 years of available data.
Share of land covered by forest in Rwanda, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 17.7% | — |
| 1991 | 17.6% | -0.6% |
| 1992 | 17.5% | -0.6% |
| 1993 | 17.4% | -0.6% |
| 1994 | 17.3% | -0.6% |
| 1995 | 17.1% | -0.6% |
| 1996 | 17.0% | -0.7% |
| 1997 | 16.9% | -0.7% |
| 1998 | 16.8% | -0.7% |
| 1999 | 16.7% | -0.7% |
| 2000 | 16.6% | -0.7% |
| 2001 | 16.6% | +0.2% |
| 2002 | 16.6% | +0.2% |
| 2003 | 16.7% | +0.2% |
| 2004 | 16.7% | +0.2% |
| 2005 | 16.7% | +0.2% |
| 2006 | 16.8% | +0.2% |
| 2007 | 16.8% | +0.2% |
| 2008 | 16.8% | +0.2% |
| 2009 | 16.8% | +0.2% |
| 2010 | 16.9% | +0.2% |
| 2011 | 17.5% | +3.5% |
| 2012 | 18.1% | +3.4% |
| 2013 | 18.6% | +3.3% |
| 2014 | 19.2% | +3.2% |
| 2015 | 19.8% | +3.1% |
| 2016 | 20.4% | +3.0% |
| 2017 | 21.0% | +2.9% |
| 2018 | 21.6% | +2.8% |
| 2019 | 22.2% | +2.7% |
| 2020 | 22.8% | +2.7% |
| 2021 | 23.4% | +2.6% |
| 2022 | 24.0% | +2.5% |
| 2023 | 24.5% | +2.5% |
| 2024 | 25.1% | +2.4% |
| 2025 | 25.7% | +2.3% |
Rwanda compared with similar countries
- Rwanda's 25.7% is above the median for low income countries, which is 11.9%, 2.2× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Rwanda's 25.7% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 22.0%, 1.2× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 17.2% | 16.7% | 17.7% | 10 |
| 2000s | 16.7% | 16.6% | 16.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 19.5% | 16.9% | 22.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 24.2% | 22.8% | 25.7% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Rwanda
More environment data for Rwanda
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -5.64 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -5.05 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate -31.63 % change on previous year (2013)
- Standard Deviation 0.268 °C (2013)
- Temperature change 1.35 °C (2013)
- Wood-based panels — Production, annual growth rate -100 % change on previous year (1990)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.0359 % 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 -1.42 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of land covered by forest in Rwanda?
- Share of land covered by forest in Rwanda was 25.7% 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 Rwanda?
- The highest recorded value was 25.7% in 2025.
- What is the lowest share of land covered by forest recorded in Rwanda?
- The lowest recorded value was 16.6% in 2000.
- How does Rwanda rank for share of land covered by forest?
- Rwanda ranks 119th out of 216 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of land covered by forest rising or falling in Rwanda?
- Over the last ten years it is up 29.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Rwanda 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.