Naturally regenerating forest — Area in Western Africa
Western Africa: Naturally regenerating forest — Area was 67,177 1000 ha in 2025. ▼ Falling
Naturally regenerating forest — Area in Western Africa, 1990–2025
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in 1000 ha.
Analysis
The most recent figure for naturally regenerating forest — area in Western Africa is 67,177 1000 ha, measured in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 36 years on record.
The figure is down 1.0% on the previous year and down 9.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, naturally regenerating forest — area in Western Africa peaked at 97,062 1000 ha in 1990 and was at its lowest, 67,177 1000 ha, in 2025.
That places Western Africa 25th out of 32 groups with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 36 years of available data.
Naturally regenerating forest — Area in Western Africa, year by year
| Year | 1000 ha | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 97,062 1000 ha | — |
| 1991 | 96,109 1000 ha | -1.0% |
| 1992 | 95,156 1000 ha | -1.0% |
| 1993 | 94,202 1000 ha | -1.0% |
| 1994 | 93,249 1000 ha | -1.0% |
| 1995 | 92,296 1000 ha | -1.0% |
| 1996 | 91,342 1000 ha | -1.0% |
| 1997 | 90,389 1000 ha | -1.0% |
| 1998 | 89,436 1000 ha | -1.1% |
| 1999 | 88,482 1000 ha | -1.1% |
| 2000 | 87,529 1000 ha | -1.1% |
| 2001 | 86,684 1000 ha | -1.0% |
| 2002 | 85,838 1000 ha | -1.0% |
| 2003 | 84,992 1000 ha | -1.0% |
| 2004 | 84,147 1000 ha | -1.0% |
| 2005 | 83,302 1000 ha | -1.0% |
| 2006 | 82,456 1000 ha | -1.0% |
| 2007 | 81,611 1000 ha | -1.0% |
| 2008 | 80,765 1000 ha | -1.0% |
| 2009 | 79,920 1000 ha | -1.0% |
| 2010 | 79,074 1000 ha | -1.1% |
| 2011 | 78,137 1000 ha | -1.2% |
| 2012 | 77,200 1000 ha | -1.2% |
| 2013 | 76,263 1000 ha | -1.2% |
| 2014 | 75,326 1000 ha | -1.2% |
| 2015 | 74,389 1000 ha | -1.2% |
| 2016 | 73,619 1000 ha | -1.0% |
| 2017 | 72,849 1000 ha | -1.0% |
| 2018 | 72,079 1000 ha | -1.1% |
| 2019 | 71,309 1000 ha | -1.1% |
| 2020 | 70,539 1000 ha | -1.1% |
| 2021 | 69,867 1000 ha | -1.0% |
| 2022 | 69,194 1000 ha | -1.0% |
| 2023 | 68,522 1000 ha | -1.0% |
| 2024 | 67,849 1000 ha | -1.0% |
| 2025 | 67,177 1000 ha | -1.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 92,772 1000 ha | 88,482 1000 ha | 97,062 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2000s | 83,724 1000 ha | 79,920 1000 ha | 87,529 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2010s | 75,025 1000 ha | 71,309 1000 ha | 79,074 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2020s | 68,858 1000 ha | 67,177 1000 ha | 70,539 1000 ha | 6 |
Countries ranked near Western Africa
- 22 Zambia 44,820 1000 ha compare
- 23 United Republic of Tanzania 42,847 1000 ha compare
- 24 Melanesia 39,145 1000 ha compare
- 25 Papua New Guinea 33,970 1000 ha compare
- 26 Mozambique 32,159 1000 ha compare
- 27 Sudan (former) 30,713 1000 ha compare
- 28 Ethiopia 25,779 1000 ha compare
More environment data for Western Africa
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -6.69 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -6.59 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.311 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.37 °C (2025)
- Industrial roundwood — Export quantity 355,916 m3 (2024)
- Industrial roundwood, coniferous — Production 51,000 m3 (2024)
- Industrial roundwood — Import value 18,051 1000 USD (2024)
- Industrial roundwood — Import quantity 79,324 m3 (2024)
- Industrial roundwood — Production 20.68 million m3 (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is naturally regenerating forest — area in Western Africa?
- Naturally regenerating forest — area in Western Africa was 67,177 1000 ha in 2025, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest naturally regenerating forest — area recorded in Western Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 97,062 1000 ha in 1990.
- What is the lowest naturally regenerating forest — area recorded in Western Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 67,177 1000 ha in 2025.
- How does Western Africa rank for naturally regenerating forest — area?
- Western Africa ranks 25th out of 32 groups with data for 2025.
- Is naturally regenerating forest — area rising or falling in Western Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 9.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Western 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.