Primary Forest — Area in Benin
Benin: Primary Forest — Area was 1,205 1000 ha in 2025. ▼ Falling
Primary Forest — Area in Benin, 1990–2025
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in 1000 ha.
Analysis
Benin recorded 1,205 1000 ha for primary forest — area in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 36 years on record.
That represents a change of down 1.0% on the previous year and down 8.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, primary forest — area in Benin peaked at 3,571 1000 ha in 1990 and was at its lowest, 1,205 1000 ha, in 2025.
That places Benin 35th out of 182 countries 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.
Primary Forest — Area in Benin, year by year
| Year | 1000 ha | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 3,571 1000 ha | — |
| 1991 | 3,478 1000 ha | -2.6% |
| 1992 | 3,386 1000 ha | -2.7% |
| 1993 | 3,293 1000 ha | -2.7% |
| 1994 | 3,201 1000 ha | -2.8% |
| 1995 | 3,108 1000 ha | -2.9% |
| 1996 | 3,015 1000 ha | -3.0% |
| 1997 | 2,923 1000 ha | -3.1% |
| 1998 | 2,830 1000 ha | -3.2% |
| 1999 | 2,738 1000 ha | -3.3% |
| 2000 | 2,645 1000 ha | -3.4% |
| 2001 | 2,556 1000 ha | -3.4% |
| 2002 | 2,467 1000 ha | -3.5% |
| 2003 | 2,377 1000 ha | -3.6% |
| 2004 | 2,288 1000 ha | -3.8% |
| 2005 | 2,199 1000 ha | -3.9% |
| 2006 | 2,110 1000 ha | -4.1% |
| 2007 | 2,020 1000 ha | -4.2% |
| 2008 | 1,931 1000 ha | -4.4% |
| 2009 | 1,842 1000 ha | -4.6% |
| 2010 | 1,753 1000 ha | -4.8% |
| 2011 | 1,667 1000 ha | -4.9% |
| 2012 | 1,581 1000 ha | -5.2% |
| 2013 | 1,495 1000 ha | -5.4% |
| 2014 | 1,409 1000 ha | -5.7% |
| 2015 | 1,323 1000 ha | -6.1% |
| 2016 | 1,312 1000 ha | -0.9% |
| 2017 | 1,300 1000 ha | -0.9% |
| 2018 | 1,288 1000 ha | -0.9% |
| 2019 | 1,276 1000 ha | -0.9% |
| 2020 | 1,264 1000 ha | -0.9% |
| 2021 | 1,252 1000 ha | -0.9% |
| 2022 | 1,241 1000 ha | -0.9% |
| 2023 | 1,229 1000 ha | -1.0% |
| 2024 | 1,217 1000 ha | -1.0% |
| 2025 | 1,205 1000 ha | -1.0% |
Benin compared with similar countries
- Benin's 1,205 1000 ha is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 413 1000 ha, 2.9× the median. (29 countries reporting)
- Benin's 1,205 1000 ha is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 220 1000 ha, 5.5× the median. (29 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 3,154 1000 ha | 2,738 1000 ha | 3,571 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2000s | 2,244 1000 ha | 1,842 1000 ha | 2,645 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2010s | 1,440 1000 ha | 1,276 1000 ha | 1,753 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2020s | 1,235 1000 ha | 1,205 1000 ha | 1,264 1000 ha | 6 |
Countries ranked near Benin
More environment data for Benin
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -9.6 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -10.11 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.268 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.29 °C (2025)
- Wood-based panels — Production, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 2.38 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), annual growth rate 2.92 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is primary forest — area in Benin?
- Primary forest — area in Benin was 1,205 1000 ha in 2025, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest primary forest — area recorded in Benin?
- The highest recorded value was 3,571 1000 ha in 1990.
- What is the lowest primary forest — area recorded in Benin?
- The lowest recorded value was 1,205 1000 ha in 2025.
- How does Benin rank for primary forest — area?
- Benin ranks 35th out of 182 countries with data for 2025.
- Is primary forest — area rising or falling in Benin?
- Over the last ten years it is down 8.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Benin 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.