Imported deforestation in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia: Imported deforestation was 9,760 hectares in 2023. ▼ Falling
Imported deforestation in Saudi Arabia, 2005–2023
Source: Singh et al. (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
Saudi Arabia recorded 9,760 hectares for imported deforestation in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 19 years on record.
The figure is down 15.0% on the previous year and down 68.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, imported deforestation in Saudi Arabia peaked at 36,145 hectares in 2012 and was at its lowest, 9,760 hectares, in 2023.
That places Saudi Arabia 28th out of 178 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 19 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 22,140 hectares | 17,295 hectares | 30,163 hectares | 5 |
| 2010s | 24,337 hectares | 17,786 hectares | 36,145 hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 11,170 hectares | 9,760 hectares | 13,082 hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Saudi Arabia
More environment data for Saudi Arabia
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 838.88 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 23.76 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 8.68 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 0.0153 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 69.55 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.0811 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 113.12 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.3635 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.3983 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 33.24 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is imported deforestation in Saudi Arabia?
- Imported deforestation in Saudi Arabia was 9,760 hectares in 2023, according to Singh et al. (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest imported deforestation recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The highest recorded value was 36,145 hectares in 2012.
- What is the lowest imported deforestation recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The lowest recorded value was 9,760 hectares in 2023.
- How does Saudi Arabia rank for imported deforestation?
- Saudi Arabia ranks 28th out of 178 countries with data for 2023.
- Is imported deforestation rising or falling in Saudi Arabia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 68.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Saudi Arabia 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.