Imported deforestation in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Imported deforestation was 4,597 hectares in 2023. ▲ Rising
Imported deforestation in Sri Lanka, 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 Sri Lanka is 4,597 hectares, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 19 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.0% on the previous year and up 142.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, imported deforestation in Sri Lanka peaked at 4,597 hectares in 2023 and was at its lowest, 1,360 hectares, in 2021.
Sri Lanka ranks 51st of 178 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 19 years of available data.
Imported deforestation in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 1,758 hectares | — |
| 2006 | 2,129 hectares | +21.1% |
| 2007 | 2,328 hectares | +9.4% |
| 2008 | 2,131 hectares | -8.5% |
| 2009 | 2,028 hectares | -4.8% |
| 2010 | 2,092 hectares | +3.2% |
| 2011 | 2,759 hectares | +31.9% |
| 2012 | 2,271 hectares | -17.7% |
| 2013 | 1,892 hectares | -16.7% |
| 2014 | 2,169 hectares | +14.6% |
| 2015 | 2,230 hectares | +2.8% |
| 2016 | 2,426 hectares | +8.8% |
| 2017 | 2,191 hectares | -9.7% |
| 2018 | 2,375 hectares | +8.4% |
| 2019 | 2,836 hectares | +19.5% |
| 2020 | 1,585 hectares | -44.1% |
| 2021 | 1,360 hectares | -14.2% |
| 2022 | 4,550 hectares | +234.5% |
| 2023 | 4,597 hectares | +1.0% |
Sri Lanka compared with similar countries
- Sri Lanka's 4,597 hectares is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 2,929 hectares, 1.6× the median. (50 countries reporting)
- Sri Lanka's 4,597 hectares is above the median for South Asia, which is 4,597 hectares, 1.0× the median. (5 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Imported deforestation in Sri Lanka changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | +234.5% | 1,360 hectares | 4,550 hectares |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 2,075 hectares | 1,758 hectares | 2,328 hectares | 5 |
| 2010s | 2,324 hectares | 1,892 hectares | 2,836 hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 3,023 hectares | 1,360 hectares | 4,597 hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
More environment data for Sri Lanka
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 5.24 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 5.49 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.207 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 0.849 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 5.63 % 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 1.22 % 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 Sri Lanka?
- Imported deforestation in Sri Lanka was 4,597 hectares in 2023, according to Singh et al. (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest imported deforestation recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 4,597 hectares in 2023.
- What is the lowest imported deforestation recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 1,360 hectares in 2021.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for imported deforestation?
- Sri Lanka ranks 51st out of 178 countries with data for 2023.
- Is imported deforestation rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is up 142.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sri Lanka 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.