Imported deforestation in Canada

Canada: Imported deforestation was 20,090 hectares in 2023. ▼ Falling

Latest (2023)
20,090 hectares
Change on year
down 7.7%
World rank
14th
of 178 countries
All-time high
34,543 hectares
in 2017
All-time low
20,090 hectares
in 2023
Years of data
19
2005–2023

Imported deforestation in Canada, 2005–2023

010.0k20.0k30.0k2005201420232005: 31.1k hectares2006: 33.3k hectares2007: 34.0k hectares2008: 34.4k hectares2009: 31.3k hectares2010: 33.1k hectares2011: 31.7k hectares2012: 33.9k hectares2013: 29.8k hectares2014: 30.7k hectares2015: 29.3k hectares2016: 31.4k hectares2017: 34.5k hectares2018: 33.6k hectares2019: 29.7k hectares2020: 27.4k hectares2021: 23.9k hectares2022: 21.8k hectares2023: 20.1k hectares

Source: Singh et al. (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.

Analysis

In 2023, imported deforestation in Canada stood at 20,090 hectares. That is the lowest value across all 19 years on record.

That represents a change of down 7.7% on the previous year and down 32.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, imported deforestation in Canada peaked at 34,543 hectares in 2017 and was at its lowest, 20,090 hectares, in 2023.

That places Canada 14th 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.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 32,824 hectares 31,127 hectares 34,430 hectares 5
2010s 31,785 hectares 29,348 hectares 34,543 hectares 10
2020s 23,268 hectares 20,090 hectares 27,356 hectares 4

Countries ranked near Canada

  1. 11 Italy 22,107 hectares compare
  2. 12 Mexico 21,237 hectares compare
  3. 13 Spain 20,872 hectares compare
  4. 15 Indonesia 18,889 hectares compare
  5. 16 Australia 18,391 hectares compare
  6. 17 Malaysia 17,987 hectares compare

See the full ranking of 178 places →

More environment data for Canada

All data for Canada →

Frequently asked questions

What is imported deforestation in Canada?
Imported deforestation in Canada was 20,090 hectares in 2023, according to Singh et al. (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest imported deforestation recorded in Canada?
The highest recorded value was 34,543 hectares in 2017.
What is the lowest imported deforestation recorded in Canada?
The lowest recorded value was 20,090 hectares in 2023.
How does Canada rank for imported deforestation?
Canada ranks 14th out of 178 countries with data for 2023.
Is imported deforestation rising or falling in Canada?
Over the last ten years it is down 32.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Canada 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

Indicator
Imported deforestation
Unit
hectares
Source
Singh et al. (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
178 places, 3,320 data points, 2005–2023
Last refreshed

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.