Forest land — Share in Land area in Western Africa

Western Africa: Forest land — Share in Land area was 12.09 % in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
12.09 %
Change on year
down 0.8%
Rank
41st
of 47 regions
All-time high
16.39 %
in 1990
All-time low
12.09 %
in 2024
Years of data
35
1990–2024

Forest land — Share in Land area in Western Africa, 1990–2024

0510151990200720241990: 16.4 %1991: 16.2 %1992: 16.1 %1993: 15.9 %1994: 15.8 %1995: 15.6 %1996: 15.5 %1997: 15.3 %1998: 15.2 %1999: 15.1 %2000: 14.9 %2001: 14.8 %2002: 14.7 %2003: 14.5 %2004: 14.4 %2005: 14.3 %2006: 14.2 %2007: 14 %2008: 13.9 %2009: 13.8 %2010: 13.7 %2011: 13.5 %2012: 13.4 %2013: 13.3 %2014: 13.1 %2015: 13 %2016: 12.9 %2017: 12.8 %2018: 12.7 %2019: 12.6 %2020: 12.5 %2021: 12.4 %2022: 12.3 %2023: 12.2 %2024: 12.1 %

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in %.

Analysis

The most recent figure for forest land — share in land area in Western Africa is 12.09 %, measured in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 35 years on record.

That represents a change of down 0.8% on the previous year and down 7.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, forest land — share in land area in Western Africa peaked at 16.39 % in 1990 and was at its lowest, 12.09 %, in 2024.

That places Western Africa 41st out of 47 regions with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 35 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 15.72 % 15.05 % 16.39 % 10
2000s 14.34 % 13.79 % 14.9 % 10
2010s 13.09 % 12.58 % 13.66 % 10
2020s 12.28 % 12.09 % 12.48 % 5

Countries ranked near Western Africa

  1. 38 Estonia, Republic of 57.25 % compare
  2. 39 Jamaica 56.55 % compare
  3. 40 Latvia, Republic of 55.61 % compare
  4. 41 St. Lucia 53.75 % compare
  5. 42 Colombia 53.71 % compare
  6. 43 Marshall Islands, Republic of the 53.65 % compare
  7. 44 Northern Mariana Islands 53.3 % compare

See the full ranking of 267 places →

More environment data for Western Africa

All data for Western Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is forest land — share in land area in Western Africa?
Forest land — share in land area in Western Africa was 12.09 % in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
What is the highest forest land — share in land area recorded in Western Africa?
The highest recorded value was 16.39 % in 1990.
What is the lowest forest land — share in land area recorded in Western Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 12.09 % in 2024.
How does Western Africa rank for forest land — share in land area?
Western Africa ranks 41st out of 47 regions with data for 2024.
Is forest land — share in land area rising or falling in Western Africa?
Over the last ten years it is down 7.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Western Africa 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.

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Forest land — Share in Land area in Western Africa. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 18 August 2026, from https://environment.statizoid.com/stat/forest-land-share-in-land-area/western-africa/

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About this data

Indicator
Forest land — Share in Land area
Unit
%
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)
Coverage
267 places, 9,048 data points, 1990–2024
Last refreshed

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.