Forest land — Share in Land area in Zambia
Zambia: Forest land — Share in Land area was 60.5 % in 2024. ▼ Falling
Forest land — Share in Land area in Zambia, 1990–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for forest land — share in land area in Zambia is 60.5 %, measured in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 35 years on record.
The figure is down 0.2% on the previous year and down 2.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, forest land — share in land area in Zambia peaked at 63.78 % in 1990 and was at its lowest, 60.5 %, in 2024.
That places Zambia 40th out of 249 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 35 years of available data.
Forest land — Share in Land area in Zambia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 63.78 % | — |
| 1991 | 63.73 % | -0.1% |
| 1992 | 63.68 % | -0.1% |
| 1993 | 63.63 % | -0.1% |
| 1994 | 63.59 % | -0.1% |
| 1995 | 63.54 % | -0.1% |
| 1996 | 63.49 % | -0.1% |
| 1997 | 63.44 % | -0.1% |
| 1998 | 63.39 % | -0.1% |
| 1999 | 63.34 % | -0.1% |
| 2000 | 63.3 % | -0.1% |
| 2001 | 63.25 % | -0.1% |
| 2002 | 63.2 % | -0.1% |
| 2003 | 63.15 % | -0.1% |
| 2004 | 63.1 % | -0.1% |
| 2005 | 63.06 % | -0.1% |
| 2006 | 63.01 % | -0.1% |
| 2007 | 62.96 % | -0.1% |
| 2008 | 62.91 % | -0.1% |
| 2009 | 62.86 % | -0.1% |
| 2010 | 62.81 % | -0.1% |
| 2011 | 62.56 % | -0.4% |
| 2012 | 62.31 % | -0.4% |
| 2013 | 62.06 % | -0.4% |
| 2014 | 61.8 % | -0.4% |
| 2015 | 61.55 % | -0.4% |
| 2016 | 61.44 % | -0.2% |
| 2017 | 61.34 % | -0.2% |
| 2018 | 61.23 % | -0.2% |
| 2019 | 61.12 % | -0.2% |
| 2020 | 61.02 % | -0.2% |
| 2021 | 60.89 % | -0.2% |
| 2022 | 60.76 % | -0.2% |
| 2023 | 60.63 % | -0.2% |
| 2024 | 60.5 % | -0.2% |
Zambia compared with similar countries
- Zambia's 60.5 % is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 23.45 %, 2.6× the median. (44 countries reporting)
- Zambia's 60.5 % is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 22 %, 2.8× the median. (45 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 63.56 % | 63.34 % | 63.78 % | 10 |
| 2000s | 63.08 % | 62.86 % | 63.3 % | 10 |
| 2010s | 61.82 % | 61.12 % | 62.81 % | 10 |
| 2020s | 60.76 % | 60.5 % | 61.02 % | 5 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
- 37 Democratic Republic of the Congo 61.52 % compare
- 38 Montenegro 61.49 % compare
- 39 Anguilla 60.67 % compare
- 41 Costa Rica 59.06 % compare
- 42 United States Virgin Islands 58.94 % compare
- 43 Brazil 58.55 % 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 — share in land area in Zambia?
- Forest land — share in land area in Zambia was 60.5 % in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest forest land — share in land area recorded in Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 63.78 % in 1990.
- What is the lowest forest land — share in land area recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 60.5 % in 2024.
- How does Zambia rank for forest land — share in land area?
- Zambia ranks 40th out of 249 countries with data for 2024.
- Is forest land — share in land area rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.1%. 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 — 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.