Forest land — Area in Zambia
Zambia: Forest land — Area was 44,874 1000 ha in 2025. ▼ Falling
Forest land — Area in Zambia, 1990–2025
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in 1000 ha.
Analysis
Zambia recorded 44,874 1000 ha for forest land — area in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 36 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.2% on the previous year and down 1.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, forest land — area in Zambia peaked at 47,412 1000 ha in 1990 and was at its lowest, 44,874 1000 ha, in 2025.
Zambia ranks 22nd of 249 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 36 years of available data.
Forest land — Area in Zambia, year by year
| Year | 1000 ha | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 47,412 1000 ha | — |
| 1991 | 47,376 1000 ha | -0.1% |
| 1992 | 47,340 1000 ha | -0.1% |
| 1993 | 47,305 1000 ha | -0.1% |
| 1994 | 47,269 1000 ha | -0.1% |
| 1995 | 47,233 1000 ha | -0.1% |
| 1996 | 47,197 1000 ha | -0.1% |
| 1997 | 47,161 1000 ha | -0.1% |
| 1998 | 47,126 1000 ha | -0.1% |
| 1999 | 47,090 1000 ha | -0.1% |
| 2000 | 47,054 1000 ha | -0.1% |
| 2001 | 47,018 1000 ha | -0.1% |
| 2002 | 46,982 1000 ha | -0.1% |
| 2003 | 46,947 1000 ha | -0.1% |
| 2004 | 46,911 1000 ha | -0.1% |
| 2005 | 46,875 1000 ha | -0.1% |
| 2006 | 46,839 1000 ha | -0.1% |
| 2007 | 46,803 1000 ha | -0.1% |
| 2008 | 46,768 1000 ha | -0.1% |
| 2009 | 46,732 1000 ha | -0.1% |
| 2010 | 46,696 1000 ha | -0.1% |
| 2011 | 46,508 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 2012 | 46,320 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 2013 | 46,132 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 2014 | 45,943 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 2015 | 45,755 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 2016 | 45,676 1000 ha | -0.2% |
| 2017 | 45,597 1000 ha | -0.2% |
| 2018 | 45,518 1000 ha | -0.2% |
| 2019 | 45,439 1000 ha | -0.2% |
| 2020 | 45,360 1000 ha | -0.2% |
| 2021 | 45,263 1000 ha | -0.2% |
| 2022 | 45,166 1000 ha | -0.2% |
| 2023 | 45,069 1000 ha | -0.2% |
| 2024 | 44,971 1000 ha | -0.2% |
| 2025 | 44,874 1000 ha | -0.2% |
Zambia compared with similar countries
- Zambia's 44,874 1000 ha is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 3,483 1000 ha, 12.9× the median. (44 countries reporting)
- Zambia's 44,874 1000 ha is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 3,914 1000 ha, 11.5× the median. (45 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 47,251 1000 ha | 47,090 1000 ha | 47,412 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2000s | 46,893 1000 ha | 46,732 1000 ha | 47,054 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2010s | 45,958 1000 ha | 45,439 1000 ha | 46,696 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2020s | 45,117 1000 ha | 44,874 1000 ha | 45,360 1000 ha | 6 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
- 19 Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) 47,088 1000 ha compare
- 20 Argentina 46,598 1000 ha compare
- 21 Central African Republic 45,095 1000 ha compare
- 23 United Republic of Tanzania 43,400 1000 ha compare
- 24 Melanesia 39,480 1000 ha compare
- 25 Papua New Guinea 34,029 1000 ha compare
More environment data for Zambia
- 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)
- Wood-based panels — Production, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 2.74 % 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 3.49 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is forest land — area in Zambia?
- Forest land — area in Zambia was 44,874 1000 ha in 2025, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest forest land — area recorded in Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 47,412 1000 ha in 1990.
- What is the lowest forest land — area recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 44,874 1000 ha in 2025.
- How does Zambia rank for forest land — area?
- Zambia ranks 22nd out of 249 countries with data for 2025.
- Is forest land — area 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 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.