Imported deforestation in India
India: Imported deforestation was 55,698 hectares in 2023. ▼ Falling
Imported deforestation in India, 2005–2023
Source: Singh et al. (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
The most recent figure for imported deforestation in India is 55,698 hectares, measured in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 19 years on record.
That represents a change of down 13.7% on the previous year and down 41.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, imported deforestation in India peaked at 142,729 hectares in 2014 and was at its lowest, 55,698 hectares, in 2023.
That places India 3rd 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
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 92,628 hectares | 65,403 hectares | 117,514 hectares | 5 |
| 2010s | 108,496 hectares | 66,852 hectares | 142,729 hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 71,909 hectares | 55,698 hectares | 85,987 hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near India
- 1 China 231,151 hectares compare
- 2 United States 198,489 hectares compare
- 4 Germany 48,137 hectares compare
- 5 Japan 44,920 hectares compare
- 6 United Kingdom 29,134 hectares compare
More environment data for India
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 4,371 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 3.01 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 572.27 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 37.74 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 108.11 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 4.39 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 861.61 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 1.01 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 2.4 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 135.23 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is imported deforestation in India?
- Imported deforestation in India was 55,698 hectares in 2023, according to Singh et al. (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest imported deforestation recorded in India?
- The highest recorded value was 142,729 hectares in 2014.
- What is the lowest imported deforestation recorded in India?
- The lowest recorded value was 55,698 hectares in 2023.
- How does India rank for imported deforestation?
- India ranks 3rd out of 178 countries with data for 2023.
- Is imported deforestation rising or falling in India?
- Over the last ten years it is down 41.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this India 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.