Forest area in Eswatini
Eswatini: Forest area was 433,070 hectares in 2025. ▼ Falling
Forest area in Eswatini, 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 Eswatini is 433,070 hectares, measured in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 36 years on record.
The figure is down 0.3% on the previous year and down 3.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, forest area in Eswatini peaked at 485,570 hectares in 1990 and was at its lowest, 433,070 hectares, in 2025.
That places Eswatini 146th out of 235 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 36 years of available data.
Forest area in Eswatini, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 485,570 hectares | — |
| 1991 | 484,070 hectares | -0.3% |
| 1992 | 482,570 hectares | -0.3% |
| 1993 | 481,070 hectares | -0.3% |
| 1994 | 479,570 hectares | -0.3% |
| 1995 | 478,070 hectares | -0.3% |
| 1996 | 476,570 hectares | -0.3% |
| 1997 | 475,070 hectares | -0.3% |
| 1998 | 473,570 hectares | -0.3% |
| 1999 | 472,070 hectares | -0.3% |
| 2000 | 470,570 hectares | -0.3% |
| 2001 | 469,070 hectares | -0.3% |
| 2002 | 467,570 hectares | -0.3% |
| 2003 | 466,070 hectares | -0.3% |
| 2004 | 464,570 hectares | -0.3% |
| 2005 | 463,070 hectares | -0.3% |
| 2006 | 461,570 hectares | -0.3% |
| 2007 | 460,070 hectares | -0.3% |
| 2008 | 458,570 hectares | -0.3% |
| 2009 | 457,070 hectares | -0.3% |
| 2010 | 455,570 hectares | -0.3% |
| 2011 | 454,070 hectares | -0.3% |
| 2012 | 452,570 hectares | -0.3% |
| 2013 | 451,070 hectares | -0.3% |
| 2014 | 449,570 hectares | -0.3% |
| 2015 | 448,070 hectares | -0.3% |
| 2016 | 446,570 hectares | -0.3% |
| 2017 | 445,070 hectares | -0.3% |
| 2018 | 443,570 hectares | -0.3% |
| 2019 | 442,070 hectares | -0.3% |
| 2020 | 440,570 hectares | -0.3% |
| 2021 | 439,070 hectares | -0.3% |
| 2022 | 437,570 hectares | -0.3% |
| 2023 | 436,070 hectares | -0.3% |
| 2024 | 434,570 hectares | -0.3% |
| 2025 | 433,070 hectares | -0.3% |
Eswatini compared with similar countries
- Eswatini's 433,070 hectares is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 3.89 million hectares, 11% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Eswatini's 433,070 hectares is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 4.37 million hectares, 10% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 478,820 hectares | 472,070 hectares | 485,570 hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 463,820 hectares | 457,070 hectares | 470,570 hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 448,820 hectares | 442,070 hectares | 455,570 hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 436,820 hectares | 433,070 hectares | 440,570 hectares | 6 |
Countries ranked near Eswatini
More environment data for Eswatini
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.321 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.02 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.2772 % 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 -2.19 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) (Mt CO2e), annual 0 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is forest area in Eswatini?
- Forest area in Eswatini was 433,070 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 Eswatini?
- The highest recorded value was 485,570 hectares in 1990.
- What is the lowest forest area recorded in Eswatini?
- The lowest recorded value was 433,070 hectares in 2025.
- How does Eswatini rank for forest area?
- Eswatini ranks 146th out of 235 countries with data for 2025.
- Is forest area rising or falling in Eswatini?
- Over the last ten years it is down 3.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Eswatini 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.