Forest area in Congo
Congo: Forest area was 21.85 million hectares in 2025. ▬ Flat
Forest area in Congo, 1990–2025
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
In 2025, forest area in Congo stood at 21.85 million hectares.
The figure is up 0.1% on the previous year and down 0.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, forest area in Congo peaked at 22.25 million hectares in 1990 and was at its lowest, 21.78 million hectares, in 2020.
Congo ranks 31st of 235 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 22.20 million hectares | 22.15 million hectares | 22.25 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 22.08 million hectares | 22.03 million hectares | 22.14 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 21.92 million hectares | 21.81 million hectares | 22.02 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 21.82 million hectares | 21.78 million hectares | 21.85 million hectares | 6 |
Countries ranked near Congo
More environment data for Congo
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 24.62 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 3.89 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 0.4604 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 0.4601 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 13.3 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.0013 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 14.96 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.0052 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.0073 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 0.7254 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is forest area in Congo?
- Forest area in Congo was 21.85 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 Congo?
- The highest recorded value was 22.25 million hectares in 1990.
- What is the lowest forest area recorded in Congo?
- The lowest recorded value was 21.78 million hectares in 2020.
- How does Congo rank for forest area?
- Congo ranks 31st out of 235 countries with data for 2025.
- Is forest area rising or falling in Congo?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this Congo 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.