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 31 groups with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 36 years of available data.
Primary Forest — Area in Africa, year by year
| Year | 1000 ha | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 191,356 1000 ha | — |
| 1991 | 190,606 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 1992 | 189,855 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 1993 | 189,104 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 1994 | 188,353 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 1995 | 187,603 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 1996 | 186,852 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 1997 | 186,101 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 1998 | 185,350 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 1999 | 184,600 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 2000 | 183,849 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 2001 | 182,941 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2002 | 182,033 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2003 | 181,125 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2004 | 180,218 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2005 | 179,310 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2006 | 178,402 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2007 | 177,494 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2008 | 176,586 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2009 | 175,678 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2010 | 174,770 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2011 | 173,600 1000 ha | -0.7% |
| 2012 | 172,429 1000 ha | -0.7% |
| 2013 | 171,259 1000 ha | -0.7% |
| 2014 | 170,088 1000 ha | -0.7% |
| 2015 | 168,918 1000 ha | -0.7% |
| 2016 | 168,361 1000 ha | -0.3% |
| 2017 | 167,805 1000 ha | -0.3% |
| 2018 | 167,248 1000 ha | -0.3% |
| 2019 | 166,691 1000 ha | -0.3% |
| 2020 | 166,135 1000 ha | -0.3% |
| 2021 | 165,595 1000 ha | -0.3% |
| 2022 | 165,055 1000 ha | -0.3% |
| 2023 | 164,516 1000 ha | -0.3% |
| 2024 | 163,976 1000 ha | -0.3% |
| 2025 | 163,436 1000 ha | -0.3% |
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
- 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 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 31 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.