Share of land covered by forest in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe: Share of land covered by forest was 35.6% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Share of land covered by forest in Zimbabwe, 1990–2025
Source: Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (2013) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Zimbabwe recorded 35.6% for share of land covered by forest in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 36 years on record.
That represents a change of down 0.4% on the previous year and down 3.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of land covered by forest in Zimbabwe peaked at 43.2% in 1990 and was at its lowest, 35.6%, in 2025.
Zimbabwe ranks 95th 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 Zimbabwe, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 43.2% | — |
| 1991 | 42.9% | -0.6% |
| 1992 | 42.7% | -0.6% |
| 1993 | 42.4% | -0.6% |
| 1994 | 42.1% | -0.6% |
| 1995 | 41.8% | -0.6% |
| 1996 | 41.6% | -0.7% |
| 1997 | 41.3% | -0.7% |
| 1998 | 41.0% | -0.7% |
| 1999 | 40.7% | -0.7% |
| 2000 | 40.5% | -0.7% |
| 2001 | 40.2% | -0.7% |
| 2002 | 39.9% | -0.7% |
| 2003 | 39.7% | -0.7% |
| 2004 | 39.4% | -0.7% |
| 2005 | 39.1% | -0.7% |
| 2006 | 38.8% | -0.7% |
| 2007 | 38.6% | -0.7% |
| 2008 | 38.3% | -0.7% |
| 2009 | 38.0% | -0.7% |
| 2010 | 37.7% | -0.7% |
| 2011 | 37.6% | -0.4% |
| 2012 | 37.4% | -0.4% |
| 2013 | 37.3% | -0.4% |
| 2014 | 37.1% | -0.4% |
| 2015 | 37.0% | -0.4% |
| 2016 | 36.8% | -0.4% |
| 2017 | 36.7% | -0.4% |
| 2018 | 36.6% | -0.4% |
| 2019 | 36.4% | -0.4% |
| 2020 | 36.3% | -0.4% |
| 2021 | 36.1% | -0.4% |
| 2022 | 36.0% | -0.4% |
| 2023 | 35.9% | -0.4% |
| 2024 | 35.7% | -0.4% |
| 2025 | 35.6% | -0.4% |
Zimbabwe compared with similar countries
- Zimbabwe's 35.6% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 25.2%, 1.4× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Zimbabwe's 35.6% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 22.0%, 1.6× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 42.0% | 40.7% | 43.2% | 10 |
| 2000s | 39.2% | 38.0% | 40.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 37.1% | 36.4% | 37.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 35.9% | 35.6% | 36.3% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Zimbabwe
More environment data for Zimbabwe
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 2.93 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 3.29 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.311 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.06 °C (2025)
- Wood-based panels — Production, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 2.19 % 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 1.53 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of land covered by forest in Zimbabwe?
- Share of land covered by forest in Zimbabwe was 35.6% 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 Zimbabwe?
- The highest recorded value was 43.2% in 1990.
- What is the lowest share of land covered by forest recorded in Zimbabwe?
- The lowest recorded value was 35.6% in 2025.
- How does Zimbabwe rank for share of land covered by forest?
- Zimbabwe ranks 95th out of 216 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of land covered by forest rising or falling in Zimbabwe?
- Over the last ten years it is down 3.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Zimbabwe 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.