Imported deforestation in Australia
Australia: Imported deforestation was 18,391 hectares in 2023. ▼ Falling
Imported deforestation in Australia, 2005–2023
Source: Singh et al. (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
In 2023, imported deforestation in Australia stood at 18,391 hectares.
That represents a change of down 4.7% on the previous year and down 42.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, imported deforestation in Australia peaked at 34,481 hectares in 2012 and was at its lowest, 17,860 hectares, in 2020.
That places Australia 16th out of 178 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 19 years of available data.
Imported deforestation in Australia, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 22,737 hectares | — |
| 2006 | 23,813 hectares | +4.7% |
| 2007 | 26,981 hectares | +13.3% |
| 2008 | 28,270 hectares | +4.8% |
| 2009 | 24,455 hectares | -13.5% |
| 2010 | 28,093 hectares | +14.9% |
| 2011 | 32,639 hectares | +16.2% |
| 2012 | 34,481 hectares | +5.6% |
| 2013 | 32,157 hectares | -6.7% |
| 2014 | 27,849 hectares | -13.4% |
| 2015 | 22,662 hectares | -18.6% |
| 2016 | 24,052 hectares | +6.1% |
| 2017 | 26,533 hectares | +10.3% |
| 2018 | 25,411 hectares | -4.2% |
| 2019 | 20,611 hectares | -18.9% |
| 2020 | 17,860 hectares | -13.3% |
| 2021 | 18,250 hectares | +2.2% |
| 2022 | 19,307 hectares | +5.8% |
| 2023 | 18,391 hectares | -4.7% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 18,391 hectares is above the median for high income countries, which is 2,937 hectares, 6.3× the median. (59 countries reporting)
- Australia's 18,391 hectares is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 2,593 hectares, 7.1× the median. (23 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 25,251 hectares | 22,737 hectares | 28,270 hectares | 5 |
| 2010s | 27,449 hectares | 20,611 hectares | 34,481 hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 18,452 hectares | 17,860 hectares | 19,307 hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Australia
More environment data for Australia
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -4.75 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -5.98 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.345 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.4 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.6708 % 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 0.0861 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is imported deforestation in Australia?
- Imported deforestation in Australia was 18,391 hectares in 2023, according to Singh et al. (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest imported deforestation recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 34,481 hectares in 2012.
- What is the lowest imported deforestation recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 17,860 hectares in 2020.
- How does Australia rank for imported deforestation?
- Australia ranks 16th out of 178 countries with data for 2023.
- Is imported deforestation rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 42.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from Singh et al. (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Imported deforestation. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 19 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Imported deforestation is the amount of deforestation in other countries that is driven by the production of food and forestry products that are imported. This is measured in hectares.