Forest land — Area in Africa
Africa: Forest land — Area was 662,630 1000 ha in 2025. ▼ Falling
Forest land — Area in Africa, 1990–2025
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in 1000 ha.
Analysis
The most recent figure for forest land — area in Africa is 662,630 1000 ha, measured in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 36 years on record.
The figure is down 0.4% on the previous year and down 4.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, forest land — area in Africa peaked at 779,536 1000 ha in 1990 and was at its lowest, 662,630 1000 ha, in 2025.
That places Africa 9th out of 32 groups 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 land — Area in Africa, year by year
| Year | 1000 ha | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 779,536 1000 ha | — |
| 1991 | 776,258 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 1992 | 772,980 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 1993 | 769,702 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 1994 | 766,424 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 1995 | 763,146 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 1996 | 759,868 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 1997 | 756,591 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 1998 | 753,313 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 1999 | 750,035 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 2000 | 746,757 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 2001 | 743,371 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2002 | 739,985 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2003 | 736,598 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2004 | 733,212 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2005 | 729,826 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2006 | 726,440 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2007 | 723,054 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2008 | 719,668 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2009 | 716,281 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2010 | 712,895 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2011 | 708,764 1000 ha | -0.6% |
| 2012 | 704,632 1000 ha | -0.6% |
| 2013 | 700,500 1000 ha | -0.6% |
| 2014 | 696,368 1000 ha | -0.6% |
| 2015 | 692,237 1000 ha | -0.6% |
| 2016 | 689,161 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 2017 | 686,086 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 2018 | 683,010 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 2019 | 679,935 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2020 | 676,859 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2021 | 674,014 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 2022 | 671,168 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 2023 | 668,322 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 2024 | 665,476 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 2025 | 662,630 1000 ha | -0.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 764,785 1000 ha | 750,035 1000 ha | 779,536 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2000s | 731,519 1000 ha | 716,281 1000 ha | 746,757 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2010s | 695,359 1000 ha | 679,935 1000 ha | 712,895 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2020s | 669,745 1000 ha | 662,630 1000 ha | 676,859 1000 ha | 6 |
Countries ranked near Africa
- 6 United States 308,895 1000 ha compare
- 7 China 227,153 1000 ha compare
- 7 China, mainland 227,153 1000 ha compare
- 9 Australia and New Zealand 143,865 1000 ha compare
- 10 Democratic Republic of the Congo 139,189 1000 ha compare
- 11 Australia 133,562 1000 ha compare
- 12 Indonesia 95,969 1000 ha compare
More environment data for Africa
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -7.12 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -7.93 Percentage change (2025)
- Temperature change 1.32 °C (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.213 °C (2025)
- Other industrial roundwood, non-coniferous (production) — Production 26.92 million m3 (2024)
- Primary wood and paper products (export/import) — Import value 11.21 million 1000 USD (2024)
- Industrial roundwood, non-coniferous — Production 66.41 million m3 (2024)
- Sawlogs and veneer logs — Production 39.12 million m3 (2024)
- Sawlogs and veneer logs, coniferous — Production 9.31 million m3 (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is forest land — area in Africa?
- Forest land — area in Africa was 662,630 1000 ha in 2025, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest forest land — area recorded in Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 779,536 1000 ha in 1990.
- What is the lowest forest land — area recorded in Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 662,630 1000 ha in 2025.
- How does Africa rank for forest land — area?
- Africa ranks 9th out of 32 groups with data for 2025.
- Is forest land — area rising or falling in Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 4.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Africa data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Forest land — Area. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 36 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO).
About this data
The FAOSTAT Land Use domain contains data on twenty-one land use categories and twenty-three categories of irrigation and agricultural practices. Data are available yearly and by country, regional and global levels. The domain includes Land Use Indicators providing information on the percentage share of agricultural and forest land, and their sub-components, including irrigated areas and areas under organic agriculture, within a country land use matrix. Data are available at country, regional and global level, for the following elements: (in percentage) i) Share in Land area; ii) Share in Agricultural land, iii) Share in Cropland; and iv) Share in Forest land; (in ha/pc) v) Area per capita.