Imported deforestation in United Kingdom

United Kingdom: Imported deforestation was 29,134 hectares in 2023. ▼ Falling

Latest (2023)
29,134 hectares
Change on year
down 4.7%
World rank
6th
of 178 countries
All-time high
63,938 hectares
in 2007
All-time low
29,134 hectares
in 2023
Years of data
19
2005–2023

Imported deforestation in United Kingdom, 2005–2023

020.0k40.0k60.0k2005201420232005: 63.9k hectares2006: 60.4k hectares2007: 63.9k hectares2008: 58.8k hectares2009: 49.4k hectares2010: 45.5k hectares2011: 46.7k hectares2012: 47.2k hectares2013: 43.8k hectares2014: 43.8k hectares2015: 43.2k hectares2016: 47.1k hectares2017: 47.3k hectares2018: 48.1k hectares2019: 49.8k hectares2020: 36.3k hectares2021: 33.5k hectares2022: 30.6k hectares2023: 29.1k hectares

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

Analysis

In 2023, imported deforestation in United Kingdom stood at 29,134 hectares. That is the lowest value across all 19 years on record.

That represents a change of down 4.7% on the previous year and down 33.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, imported deforestation in United Kingdom peaked at 63,938 hectares in 2007 and was at its lowest, 29,134 hectares, in 2023.

That places United Kingdom 6th 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

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 59,281 hectares 49,409 hectares 63,938 hectares 5
2010s 46,247 hectares 43,213 hectares 49,751 hectares 10
2020s 32,381 hectares 29,134 hectares 36,321 hectares 4

Countries ranked near United Kingdom

  1. 3 India 55,698 hectares compare
  2. 4 Germany 48,137 hectares compare
  3. 5 Japan 44,920 hectares compare
  4. 7 France 28,283 hectares compare
  5. 8 South Korea 27,738 hectares compare
  6. 9 Vietnam 26,644 hectares compare

See the full ranking of 178 places →

More environment data for United Kingdom

All data for United Kingdom →

Frequently asked questions

What is imported deforestation in United Kingdom?
Imported deforestation in United Kingdom was 29,134 hectares in 2023, according to Singh et al. (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest imported deforestation recorded in United Kingdom?
The highest recorded value was 63,938 hectares in 2007.
What is the lowest imported deforestation recorded in United Kingdom?
The lowest recorded value was 29,134 hectares in 2023.
How does United Kingdom rank for imported deforestation?
United Kingdom ranks 6th out of 178 countries with data for 2023.
Is imported deforestation rising or falling in United Kingdom?
Over the last ten years it is down 33.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this United Kingdom 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.