Forest area in Botswana
Botswana: Forest area was 15.73 million hectares in 2025. ▬ Flat
Latest (2025)
15.73 million hectares
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
40th
of 235 countries
All-time high
15.73 million hectares
in 2020
All-time low
15.73 million hectares
in 1990
Years of data
36
1990–2025
Forest area in Botswana, 1990–2025
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
The most recent figure for forest area in Botswana is 15.73 million hectares, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 36 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, forest area in Botswana peaked at 15.73 million hectares in 2020 and was at its lowest, 15.73 million hectares, in 1990.
That places Botswana 40th out of 235 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
Forest area in Botswana, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 15.73 million hectares | — |
| 1991 | 15.73 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 15.73 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 15.73 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 15.73 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 15.73 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 15.73 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 15.73 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 15.73 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 15.73 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 15.73 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 15.73 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 15.73 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 15.73 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 15.73 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 15.73 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 15.73 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 15.73 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 15.73 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 15.73 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 15.73 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 15.73 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 15.73 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 15.73 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 15.73 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 15.73 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 15.73 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 15.73 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 15.73 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 15.73 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 15.73 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 15.73 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 15.73 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 15.73 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 15.73 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 15.73 million hectares | +0.0% |
Botswana compared with similar countries
- Botswana's 15.73 million hectares is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 2.29 million hectares, 6.9× the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Botswana's 15.73 million hectares is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 4.37 million hectares, 3.6× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 15.73 million hectares | 15.73 million hectares | 15.73 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 15.73 million hectares | 15.73 million hectares | 15.73 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 15.73 million hectares | 15.73 million hectares | 15.73 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 15.73 million hectares | 15.73 million hectares | 15.73 million hectares | 6 |
Countries ranked near Botswana
More environment data for Botswana
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 6.04 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 6.49 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.381 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 0.443 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual -4.05 % 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 0.3323 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is forest area in Botswana?
- Forest area in Botswana was 15.73 million hectares in 2025, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest forest area recorded in Botswana?
- The highest recorded value was 15.73 million hectares in 2020.
- What is the lowest forest area recorded in Botswana?
- The lowest recorded value was 15.73 million hectares in 1990.
- How does Botswana rank for forest area?
- Botswana ranks 40th out of 235 countries with data for 2025.
- Is forest area rising or falling in Botswana?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this Botswana data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Forest area. 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
Forest area is land under natural or planted stands of trees of at least 5 meters in situ, whether productive or not, and excludes tree stands in agricultural production systems.