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.
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
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 37.17 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 1.7 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 5.57 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 0.6851 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 0.0046 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.0737 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 11.12 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.0059 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.0632 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 4.72 Mt CO2e (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.