Primary Forest — Area in Africa
Africa: Primary Forest — Area was 163,436 1000 ha in 2025. ▼ Falling
Primary Forest — Area in Africa, 1990–2025
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in 1000 ha.
Analysis
The most recent figure for primary forest — area in Africa is 163,436 1000 ha, measured in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 36 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.3% on the previous year and down 3.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, primary forest — area in Africa peaked at 191,356 1000 ha in 1990 and was at its lowest, 163,436 1000 ha, in 2025.
That places Africa 9th out of 35 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.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 187,978 1000 ha | 184,600 1000 ha | 191,356 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2000s | 179,764 1000 ha | 175,678 1000 ha | 183,849 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2010s | 170,117 1000 ha | 166,691 1000 ha | 174,770 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2020s | 164,786 1000 ha | 163,436 1000 ha | 166,135 1000 ha | 6 |
Countries ranked near Africa
More environment data for Africa
- Nutrient phosphate P2O5 (total) — Use per value of agricultural 4.58 g/Int$ (2024)
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Use per value of agricultural production 11.88 g/Int$ (2024)
- Nutrient phosphate P2O5 (total) — Import quantity 1.48 million t (2024)
- Nutrient phosphate P2O5 (total) — Agricultural Use 1.95 million t (2024)
- Nutrient phosphate P2O5 (total) — Use per area of cropland 6.03 kg/ha (2024)
- Nutrient phosphate P2O5 (total) — Use per capita 1.29 kg/cap (2024)
- Nutrient potash K2O (total) — Use per capita 0.69 kg/cap (2024)
- Country area — Area 3.04 million 1000 ha (2024)
- Nutrient potash K2O (total) — Use per value of agricultural production 2.45 g/Int$ (2024)
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Use per capita 3.34 kg/cap (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is primary forest — area in Africa?
- Primary forest — area in Africa was 163,436 1000 ha in 2025, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest primary forest — area recorded in Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 191,356 1000 ha in 1990.
- What is the lowest primary forest — area recorded in Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 163,436 1000 ha in 2025.
- How does Africa rank for primary forest — area?
- Africa ranks 9th out of 35 groups with data for 2025.
- Is primary forest — area rising or falling in Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 3.2%. 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 Primary 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.