Forest area km in Zambia
Zambia: Forest area km was 44.87 million in 2025. ▼ Falling
Latest (2025)
44.87 million
Change on year
down 0.2%
World rank
18th
of 235 countries
All-time high
47.41 million
in 1990
All-time low
44.87 million
in 2025
Years of data
36
1990–2025
Forest area km in Zambia, 1990–2025
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for forest area km in Zambia is 44.87 million, measured in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 36 years on record.
The figure is down 0.2% on the previous year and down 1.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, forest area km in Zambia peaked at 47.41 million in 1990 and was at its lowest, 44.87 million, in 2025.
Zambia ranks 18th of 235 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 36 years of available data.
Forest area km in Zambia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 47.41 million | — |
| 1991 | 47.38 million | -0.1% |
| 1992 | 47.34 million | -0.1% |
| 1993 | 47.30 million | -0.1% |
| 1994 | 47.27 million | -0.1% |
| 1995 | 47.23 million | -0.1% |
| 1996 | 47.20 million | -0.1% |
| 1997 | 47.16 million | -0.1% |
| 1998 | 47.13 million | -0.1% |
| 1999 | 47.09 million | -0.1% |
| 2000 | 47.05 million | -0.1% |
| 2001 | 47.02 million | -0.1% |
| 2002 | 46.98 million | -0.1% |
| 2003 | 46.95 million | -0.1% |
| 2004 | 46.91 million | -0.1% |
| 2005 | 46.88 million | -0.1% |
| 2006 | 46.84 million | -0.1% |
| 2007 | 46.80 million | -0.1% |
| 2008 | 46.77 million | -0.1% |
| 2009 | 46.73 million | -0.1% |
| 2010 | 46.70 million | -0.1% |
| 2011 | 46.51 million | -0.4% |
| 2012 | 46.32 million | -0.4% |
| 2013 | 46.13 million | -0.4% |
| 2014 | 45.94 million | -0.4% |
| 2015 | 45.76 million | -0.4% |
| 2016 | 45.68 million | -0.2% |
| 2017 | 45.60 million | -0.2% |
| 2018 | 45.52 million | -0.2% |
| 2019 | 45.44 million | -0.2% |
| 2020 | 45.36 million | -0.2% |
| 2021 | 45.26 million | -0.2% |
| 2022 | 45.17 million | -0.2% |
| 2023 | 45.07 million | -0.2% |
| 2024 | 44.97 million | -0.2% |
| 2025 | 44.87 million | -0.2% |
Zambia compared with similar countries
- Zambia's 44.87 million is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 3.89 million, 11.5× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Zambia's 44.87 million is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 4.37 million, 10.3× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 47.25 million | 47.09 million | 47.41 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 46.89 million | 46.73 million | 47.05 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 45.96 million | 45.44 million | 46.70 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 45.12 million | 44.87 million | 45.36 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
- 15 Venezuela 47.09 million compare
- 16 Argentina 46.60 million compare
- 17 Central African Republic 45.09 million compare
- 19 Tanzania 43.40 million compare
- 20 Papua New Guinea 34.03 million compare
- 21 Mozambique 32.24 million compare
More environment data for Zambia
- 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 0.0007 hectares per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Grazing land use over the long-term, per capita 0.9127 hectares per person (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -2.98 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -3.03 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.265 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.11 °C (2025)
- Grazing land use over the long-term, per square kilometre 26.9 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 Zambia?
- Forest area km in Zambia was 44.87 million in 2025, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest forest area km recorded in Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 47.41 million in 1990.
- What is the lowest forest area km recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 44.87 million in 2025.
- How does Zambia rank for forest area km?
- Zambia ranks 18th out of 235 countries with data for 2025.
- Is forest area km rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 1.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Zambia 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).