Forest land — Share in Land area in Malawi
Malawi: Forest land — Share in Land area was 22 % in 2024. ▼ Falling
Forest land — Share in Land area in Malawi, 1990–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in %.
Analysis
Malawi recorded 22 % for forest land — share in land area in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 35 years on record.
That represents a change of down 2.0% on the previous year and down 16.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, forest land — share in land area in Malawi peaked at 37.14 % in 1990 and was at its lowest, 22 %, in 2024.
Malawi ranks 153rd of 249 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 35 years of available data.
Forest land — Share in Land area in Malawi, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 37.14 % | — |
| 1991 | 36.7 % | -1.2% |
| 1992 | 36.25 % | -1.2% |
| 1993 | 35.81 % | -1.2% |
| 1994 | 35.36 % | -1.3% |
| 1995 | 34.91 % | -1.3% |
| 1996 | 34.47 % | -1.3% |
| 1997 | 34.02 % | -1.3% |
| 1998 | 33.58 % | -1.3% |
| 1999 | 33.13 % | -1.3% |
| 2000 | 32.69 % | -1.3% |
| 2001 | 32.24 % | -1.4% |
| 2002 | 31.8 % | -1.4% |
| 2003 | 31.35 % | -1.4% |
| 2004 | 30.9 % | -1.4% |
| 2005 | 30.46 % | -1.4% |
| 2006 | 30.01 % | -1.5% |
| 2007 | 29.57 % | -1.5% |
| 2008 | 29.12 % | -1.5% |
| 2009 | 28.68 % | -1.5% |
| 2010 | 28.23 % | -1.6% |
| 2011 | 27.79 % | -1.6% |
| 2012 | 27.34 % | -1.6% |
| 2013 | 26.9 % | -1.6% |
| 2014 | 26.45 % | -1.7% |
| 2015 | 26 % | -1.7% |
| 2016 | 25.56 % | -1.7% |
| 2017 | 25.11 % | -1.8% |
| 2018 | 24.67 % | -1.8% |
| 2019 | 24.22 % | -1.8% |
| 2020 | 23.78 % | -1.8% |
| 2021 | 23.33 % | -1.9% |
| 2022 | 22.89 % | -1.9% |
| 2023 | 22.44 % | -2.0% |
| 2024 | 22 % | -2.0% |
Malawi compared with similar countries
- Malawi's 22 % is above the median for low income countries, which is 11.99 %, 1.8× the median. (23 countries reporting)
- Malawi's 22 % is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 22 %, 1.0× the median. (45 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 35.14 % | 33.13 % | 37.14 % | 10 |
| 2000s | 30.68 % | 28.68 % | 32.69 % | 10 |
| 2010s | 26.23 % | 24.22 % | 28.23 % | 10 |
| 2020s | 22.89 % | 22 % | 23.78 % | 5 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
More environment data for Malawi
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -0.9153 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -0.8098 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.254 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.07 °C (2025)
- Wood-based panels — Production, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 3.65 % 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 5.3 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is forest land — share in land area in Malawi?
- Forest land — share in land area in Malawi was 22 % in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest forest land — share in land area recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 37.14 % in 1990.
- What is the lowest forest land — share in land area recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 22 % in 2024.
- How does Malawi rank for forest land — share in land area?
- Malawi ranks 153rd out of 249 countries with data for 2024.
- Is forest land — share in land area rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is down 16.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Malawi data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Forest land — Share in Land area. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 35 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.