Imported deforestation in Malaysia

Malaysia: Imported deforestation was 17,987 hectares in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
17,987 hectares
Change on year
up 5.9%
World rank
17th
of 178 countries
All-time high
34,678 hectares
in 2014
All-time low
15,602 hectares
in 2005
Years of data
19
2005–2023

Imported deforestation in Malaysia, 2005–2023

010.0k20.0k30.0k2005201420232005: 15.6k hectares2006: 20.2k hectares2007: 20.2k hectares2008: 24.0k hectares2009: 22.2k hectares2010: 24.2k hectares2011: 28.6k hectares2012: 29.5k hectares2013: 28.7k hectares2014: 34.7k hectares2015: 26.2k hectares2016: 26.2k hectares2017: 30.5k hectares2018: 32.7k hectares2019: 28.2k hectares2020: 25.7k hectares2021: 20.8k hectares2022: 17.0k hectares2023: 18.0k hectares

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

Analysis

The most recent figure for imported deforestation in Malaysia is 17,987 hectares, measured in 2023.

That represents a change of up 5.9% on the previous year and down 37.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, imported deforestation in Malaysia peaked at 34,678 hectares in 2014 and was at its lowest, 15,602 hectares, in 2005.

That places Malaysia 17th out of 178 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 19 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 20,435 hectares 15,602 hectares 23,957 hectares 5
2010s 28,941 hectares 24,218 hectares 34,678 hectares 10
2020s 20,357 hectares 16,978 hectares 25,664 hectares 4

Countries ranked near Malaysia

  1. 14 Canada 20,090 hectares compare
  2. 15 Indonesia 18,889 hectares compare
  3. 16 Australia 18,391 hectares compare
  4. 18 Algeria 17,806 hectares compare
  5. 19 Netherlands 17,647 hectares compare
  6. 20 Chile 16,752 hectares compare

See the full ranking of 178 places →

More environment data for Malaysia

All data for Malaysia →

Frequently asked questions

What is imported deforestation in Malaysia?
Imported deforestation in Malaysia was 17,987 hectares in 2023, according to Singh et al. (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest imported deforestation recorded in Malaysia?
The highest recorded value was 34,678 hectares in 2014.
What is the lowest imported deforestation recorded in Malaysia?
The lowest recorded value was 15,602 hectares in 2005.
How does Malaysia rank for imported deforestation?
Malaysia ranks 17th out of 178 countries with data for 2023.
Is imported deforestation rising or falling in Malaysia?
Over the last ten years it is down 37.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Malaysia 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.