Naturally regenerating forest — Area in Africa
Africa: Naturally regenerating forest — Area was 648,546 1000 ha in 2025. ▼ Falling
Naturally regenerating forest — Area in Africa, 1990–2025
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in 1000 ha.
Analysis
In 2025, naturally regenerating forest — area in Africa stood at 648,546 1000 ha. That is the lowest value across all 36 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.5% on the previous year and down 4.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, naturally regenerating forest — area in Africa peaked at 770,586 1000 ha in 1990 and was at its lowest, 648,546 1000 ha, in 2025.
That places Africa 8th out of 32 groups with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 36 years of available data.
Naturally regenerating forest — Area in Africa, year by year
| Year | 1000 ha | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 770,586 1000 ha | — |
| 1991 | 767,216 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 1992 | 763,845 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 1993 | 760,475 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 1994 | 757,104 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 1995 | 753,734 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 1996 | 750,363 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 1997 | 746,992 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 1998 | 743,622 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 1999 | 740,251 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2000 | 736,881 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2001 | 733,349 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2002 | 729,818 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2003 | 726,286 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2004 | 722,754 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2005 | 719,223 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2006 | 715,691 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2007 | 712,160 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2008 | 708,628 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2009 | 705,096 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2010 | 701,565 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2011 | 697,263 1000 ha | -0.6% |
| 2012 | 692,962 1000 ha | -0.6% |
| 2013 | 688,661 1000 ha | -0.6% |
| 2014 | 684,359 1000 ha | -0.6% |
| 2015 | 680,058 1000 ha | -0.6% |
| 2016 | 676,758 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2017 | 673,458 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2018 | 670,158 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2019 | 666,858 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2020 | 663,558 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2021 | 660,555 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2022 | 657,553 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2023 | 654,551 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2024 | 651,548 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2025 | 648,546 1000 ha | -0.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 755,419 1000 ha | 740,251 1000 ha | 770,586 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2000s | 720,989 1000 ha | 705,096 1000 ha | 736,881 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2010s | 683,210 1000 ha | 666,858 1000 ha | 701,565 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2020s | 656,052 1000 ha | 648,546 1000 ha | 663,558 1000 ha | 6 |
Countries ranked near Africa
- 5 Canada 348,111 1000 ha compare
- 6 United States 281,472 1000 ha compare
- 7 Australia and New Zealand 139,374 1000 ha compare
- 8 Democratic Republic of the Congo 139,058 1000 ha compare
- 9 China 134,550 1000 ha compare
- 9 China, mainland 134,550 1000 ha compare
- 11 Australia 131,504 1000 ha compare
More environment data for Africa
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -7.12 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -7.93 Percentage change (2025)
- Temperature change 1.32 °C (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.213 °C (2025)
- Other industrial roundwood, non-coniferous (production) — Production 26.92 million m3 (2024)
- Primary wood and paper products (export/import) — Import value 11.21 million 1000 USD (2024)
- Industrial roundwood, non-coniferous — Production 66.41 million m3 (2024)
- Sawlogs and veneer logs — Production 39.12 million m3 (2024)
- Sawlogs and veneer logs, coniferous — Production 9.31 million m3 (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is naturally regenerating forest — area in Africa?
- Naturally regenerating forest — area in Africa was 648,546 1000 ha in 2025, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest naturally regenerating forest — area recorded in Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 770,586 1000 ha in 1990.
- What is the lowest naturally regenerating forest — area recorded in Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 648,546 1000 ha in 2025.
- How does Africa rank for naturally regenerating forest — area?
- Africa ranks 8th out of 32 groups with data for 2025.
- Is naturally regenerating forest — area rising or falling in Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 4.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Africa data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Naturally regenerating forest — Area. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 36 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO).
About this data
The FAOSTAT Land Use domain contains data on twenty-one land use categories and twenty-three categories of irrigation and agricultural practices. Data are available yearly and by country, regional and global levels. The domain includes Land Use Indicators providing information on the percentage share of agricultural and forest land, and their sub-components, including irrigated areas and areas under organic agriculture, within a country land use matrix. Data are available at country, regional and global level, for the following elements: (in percentage) i) Share in Land area; ii) Share in Agricultural land, iii) Share in Cropland; and iv) Share in Forest land; (in ha/pc) v) Area per capita.