Forest area in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone: Forest area was 2.44 million hectares in 2025. ▼ Falling
Latest (2025)
2.44 million hectares
Change on year
down 0.8%
World rank
100th
of 235 countries
All-time high
3.13 million hectares
in 1990
All-time low
2.44 million hectares
in 2025
Years of data
36
1990–2025
Forest area in Sierra Leone, 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 Sierra Leone stood at 2.44 million hectares. That is the lowest value across all 36 years on record.
That represents a change of down 0.8% on the previous year and down 7.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, forest area in Sierra Leone peaked at 3.13 million hectares in 1990 and was at its lowest, 2.44 million hectares, in 2025.
That places Sierra Leone 100th 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 Sierra Leone, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 3.13 million hectares | — |
| 1991 | 3.11 million hectares | -0.6% |
| 1992 | 3.09 million hectares | -0.6% |
| 1993 | 3.07 million hectares | -0.6% |
| 1994 | 3.05 million hectares | -0.6% |
| 1995 | 3.03 million hectares | -0.6% |
| 1996 | 3.01 million hectares | -0.7% |
| 1997 | 2.99 million hectares | -0.7% |
| 1998 | 2.97 million hectares | -0.7% |
| 1999 | 2.95 million hectares | -0.7% |
| 2000 | 2.93 million hectares | -0.7% |
| 2001 | 2.91 million hectares | -0.7% |
| 2002 | 2.89 million hectares | -0.7% |
| 2003 | 2.87 million hectares | -0.7% |
| 2004 | 2.85 million hectares | -0.7% |
| 2005 | 2.83 million hectares | -0.7% |
| 2006 | 2.81 million hectares | -0.7% |
| 2007 | 2.79 million hectares | -0.7% |
| 2008 | 2.77 million hectares | -0.7% |
| 2009 | 2.75 million hectares | -0.7% |
| 2010 | 2.73 million hectares | -0.7% |
| 2011 | 2.71 million hectares | -0.7% |
| 2012 | 2.69 million hectares | -0.7% |
| 2013 | 2.67 million hectares | -0.7% |
| 2014 | 2.65 million hectares | -0.7% |
| 2015 | 2.63 million hectares | -0.7% |
| 2016 | 2.61 million hectares | -0.7% |
| 2017 | 2.59 million hectares | -0.8% |
| 2018 | 2.57 million hectares | -0.8% |
| 2019 | 2.55 million hectares | -0.8% |
| 2020 | 2.53 million hectares | -0.8% |
| 2021 | 2.52 million hectares | -0.8% |
| 2022 | 2.50 million hectares | -0.8% |
| 2023 | 2.48 million hectares | -0.8% |
| 2024 | 2.46 million hectares | -0.8% |
| 2025 | 2.44 million hectares | -0.8% |
Sierra Leone compared with similar countries
- Sierra Leone's 2.44 million hectares is below the median for low income countries, which is 3.24 million hectares, 75% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Sierra Leone's 2.44 million hectares is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 4.37 million hectares, 56% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 3.04 million hectares | 2.95 million hectares | 3.13 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.84 million hectares | 2.75 million hectares | 2.93 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.64 million hectares | 2.55 million hectares | 2.73 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.49 million hectares | 2.44 million hectares | 2.53 million hectares | 6 |
Countries ranked near Sierra Leone
- 97 Bhutan 2.67 million hectares compare
- 98 Solomon Islands 2.51 million hectares compare
- 99 Estonia 2.45 million hectares compare
- 101 Equatorial Guinea 2.41 million hectares compare
- 102 Uganda 2.37 million hectares compare
- 103 Turkmenistan 2.33 million hectares compare
More environment data for Sierra Leone
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -5.4 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -5.39 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.232 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.28 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 1.72 % 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 1.11 % 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 Sierra Leone?
- Forest area in Sierra Leone was 2.44 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 Sierra Leone?
- The highest recorded value was 3.13 million hectares in 1990.
- What is the lowest forest area recorded in Sierra Leone?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.44 million hectares in 2025.
- How does Sierra Leone rank for forest area?
- Sierra Leone ranks 100th out of 235 countries with data for 2025.
- Is forest area rising or falling in Sierra Leone?
- Over the last ten years it is down 7.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sierra Leone 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.