Forest area km in Malawi
Malawi: Forest area km was 2.03 million in 2025. ▼ Falling
Latest (2025)
2.03 million
Change on year
down 2.0%
World rank
110th
of 235 countries
All-time high
3.50 million
in 1990
All-time low
2.03 million
in 2025
Years of data
36
1990–2025
Forest area km in Malawi, 1990–2025
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for forest area km in Malawi is 2.03 million, measured in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 36 years on record.
That represents a change of down 2.0% on the previous year and down 17.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, forest area km in Malawi peaked at 3.50 million in 1990 and was at its lowest, 2.03 million, in 2025.
Malawi ranks 110th of 235 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.
Forest area km in Malawi, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 3.50 million | — |
| 1991 | 3.46 million | -1.2% |
| 1992 | 3.42 million | -1.2% |
| 1993 | 3.38 million | -1.2% |
| 1994 | 3.33 million | -1.2% |
| 1995 | 3.29 million | -1.3% |
| 1996 | 3.25 million | -1.3% |
| 1997 | 3.21 million | -1.3% |
| 1998 | 3.17 million | -1.3% |
| 1999 | 3.12 million | -1.3% |
| 2000 | 3.08 million | -1.3% |
| 2001 | 3.04 million | -1.4% |
| 2002 | 3.00 million | -1.4% |
| 2003 | 2.96 million | -1.4% |
| 2004 | 2.91 million | -1.4% |
| 2005 | 2.87 million | -1.4% |
| 2006 | 2.83 million | -1.5% |
| 2007 | 2.79 million | -1.5% |
| 2008 | 2.75 million | -1.5% |
| 2009 | 2.70 million | -1.5% |
| 2010 | 2.66 million | -1.6% |
| 2011 | 2.62 million | -1.6% |
| 2012 | 2.58 million | -1.6% |
| 2013 | 2.54 million | -1.6% |
| 2014 | 2.49 million | -1.7% |
| 2015 | 2.45 million | -1.7% |
| 2016 | 2.41 million | -1.7% |
| 2017 | 2.37 million | -1.7% |
| 2018 | 2.33 million | -1.8% |
| 2019 | 2.28 million | -1.8% |
| 2020 | 2.24 million | -1.8% |
| 2021 | 2.20 million | -1.9% |
| 2022 | 2.16 million | -1.9% |
| 2023 | 2.12 million | -1.9% |
| 2024 | 2.07 million | -2.0% |
| 2025 | 2.03 million | -2.0% |
Malawi compared with similar countries
- Malawi's 2.03 million is below the median for low income countries, which is 3.24 million, 63% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Malawi's 2.03 million is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 4.37 million, 46% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 3.31 million | 3.12 million | 3.50 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.89 million | 2.70 million | 3.08 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.47 million | 2.28 million | 2.66 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.14 million | 2.03 million | 2.24 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
More environment data for Malawi
- Grazing land use over the long-term, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Grazing land use over the long-term, per unit of GDP 0.0001 hectares per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Grazing land use over the long-term, per capita 0.0833 hectares per person (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -0.9153 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -0.8098 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.254 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.07 °C (2025)
- Grazing land use over the long-term, per square kilometre 19.62 hectares per square kilometre (2024)
- Sawnwood, coniferous — Production, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is forest area km in Malawi?
- Forest area km in Malawi was 2.03 million in 2025, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest forest area km recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 3.50 million in 1990.
- What is the lowest forest area km recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.03 million in 2025.
- How does Malawi rank for forest area km?
- Malawi ranks 110th out of 235 countries with data for 2025.
- Is forest area km rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is down 17.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Malawi data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Forest area km. 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).