Forest area in Rwanda
Rwanda: Forest area was 634,630 hectares in 2025. ▲ Rising
Forest area in Rwanda, 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 Rwanda stood at 634,630 hectares. That is the highest value across all 36 years on record.
That represents a change of up 2.3% on the previous year and up 29.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, forest area in Rwanda peaked at 634,630 hectares in 2025 and was at its lowest, 409,230 hectares, in 2000.
Rwanda ranks 139th of 235 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 36 years of available data.
Forest area in Rwanda, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 436,850 hectares | — |
| 1991 | 434,088 hectares | -0.6% |
| 1992 | 431,326 hectares | -0.6% |
| 1993 | 428,564 hectares | -0.6% |
| 1994 | 425,802 hectares | -0.6% |
| 1995 | 423,040 hectares | -0.6% |
| 1996 | 420,278 hectares | -0.7% |
| 1997 | 417,516 hectares | -0.7% |
| 1998 | 414,754 hectares | -0.7% |
| 1999 | 411,992 hectares | -0.7% |
| 2000 | 409,230 hectares | -0.7% |
| 2001 | 409,931 hectares | +0.2% |
| 2002 | 410,632 hectares | +0.2% |
| 2003 | 411,333 hectares | +0.2% |
| 2004 | 412,034 hectares | +0.2% |
| 2005 | 412,735 hectares | +0.2% |
| 2006 | 413,436 hectares | +0.2% |
| 2007 | 414,137 hectares | +0.2% |
| 2008 | 414,838 hectares | +0.2% |
| 2009 | 415,539 hectares | +0.2% |
| 2010 | 416,240 hectares | +0.2% |
| 2011 | 430,798 hectares | +3.5% |
| 2012 | 445,356 hectares | +3.4% |
| 2013 | 459,914 hectares | +3.3% |
| 2014 | 474,472 hectares | +3.2% |
| 2015 | 489,030 hectares | +3.1% |
| 2016 | 503,590 hectares | +3.0% |
| 2017 | 518,150 hectares | +2.9% |
| 2018 | 532,710 hectares | +2.8% |
| 2019 | 547,270 hectares | +2.7% |
| 2020 | 561,830 hectares | +2.7% |
| 2021 | 576,390 hectares | +2.6% |
| 2022 | 590,950 hectares | +2.5% |
| 2023 | 605,510 hectares | +2.5% |
| 2024 | 620,070 hectares | +2.4% |
| 2025 | 634,630 hectares | +2.3% |
Rwanda compared with similar countries
- Rwanda's 634,630 hectares is below the median for low income countries, which is 3.24 million hectares, 20% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Rwanda's 634,630 hectares is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 4.37 million hectares, 15% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 424,421 hectares | 411,992 hectares | 436,850 hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 412,384 hectares | 409,230 hectares | 415,539 hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 481,753 hectares | 416,240 hectares | 547,270 hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 598,230 hectares | 561,830 hectares | 634,630 hectares | 6 |
Countries ranked near Rwanda
More environment data for Rwanda
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -5.64 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -5.05 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate -31.63 % change on previous year (2013)
- Standard Deviation 0.268 °C (2013)
- Temperature change 1.35 °C (2013)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.0359 % 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 -1.42 % 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 Rwanda?
- Forest area in Rwanda was 634,630 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 Rwanda?
- The highest recorded value was 634,630 hectares in 2025.
- What is the lowest forest area recorded in Rwanda?
- The lowest recorded value was 409,230 hectares in 2000.
- How does Rwanda rank for forest area?
- Rwanda ranks 139th out of 235 countries with data for 2025.
- Is forest area rising or falling in Rwanda?
- Over the last ten years it is up 29.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Rwanda 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.