Primary Forest — Area in Cameroon
Cameroon: Primary Forest — Area was 3,557 1000 ha in 2025. ▼ Falling
Primary Forest — Area in Cameroon, 1990–2025
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in 1000 ha.
Analysis
In 2025, primary forest — area in Cameroon stood at 3,557 1000 ha. That is the lowest value across all 36 years on record.
That represents a change of down 0.6% on the previous year and down 7.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, primary forest — area in Cameroon peaked at 4,204 1000 ha in 1990 and was at its lowest, 3,557 1000 ha, in 2025.
That places Cameroon 25th 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 Cameroon, year by year
| Year | 1000 ha | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 4,204 1000 ha | — |
| 1991 | 4,187 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 1992 | 4,170 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 1993 | 4,153 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 1994 | 4,136 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 1995 | 4,119 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 1996 | 4,103 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 1997 | 4,086 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 1998 | 4,069 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 1999 | 4,052 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 2000 | 4,035 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 2001 | 4,021 1000 ha | -0.3% |
| 2002 | 4,008 1000 ha | -0.3% |
| 2003 | 3,995 1000 ha | -0.3% |
| 2004 | 3,981 1000 ha | -0.3% |
| 2005 | 3,968 1000 ha | -0.3% |
| 2006 | 3,954 1000 ha | -0.3% |
| 2007 | 3,941 1000 ha | -0.3% |
| 2008 | 3,928 1000 ha | -0.3% |
| 2009 | 3,914 1000 ha | -0.3% |
| 2010 | 3,901 1000 ha | -0.3% |
| 2011 | 3,890 1000 ha | -0.3% |
| 2012 | 3,879 1000 ha | -0.3% |
| 2013 | 3,868 1000 ha | -0.3% |
| 2014 | 3,857 1000 ha | -0.3% |
| 2015 | 3,846 1000 ha | -0.3% |
| 2016 | 3,810 1000 ha | -0.9% |
| 2017 | 3,774 1000 ha | -0.9% |
| 2018 | 3,738 1000 ha | -1.0% |
| 2019 | 3,702 1000 ha | -1.0% |
| 2020 | 3,666 1000 ha | -1.0% |
| 2021 | 3,645 1000 ha | -0.6% |
| 2022 | 3,623 1000 ha | -0.6% |
| 2023 | 3,601 1000 ha | -0.6% |
| 2024 | 3,579 1000 ha | -0.6% |
| 2025 | 3,557 1000 ha | -0.6% |
Cameroon compared with similar countries
- Cameroon's 3,557 1000 ha is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 413 1000 ha, 8.6× the median. (29 countries reporting)
- Cameroon's 3,557 1000 ha is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 220 1000 ha, 16.2× the median. (29 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 4,128 1000 ha | 4,052 1000 ha | 4,204 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2000s | 3,974 1000 ha | 3,914 1000 ha | 4,035 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2010s | 3,827 1000 ha | 3,702 1000 ha | 3,901 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2020s | 3,612 1000 ha | 3,557 1000 ha | 3,666 1000 ha | 6 |
Countries ranked near Cameroon
- 22 French Guiana 7,587 1000 ha compare
- 23 Madagascar 7,373 1000 ha compare
- 24 Central African Republic 3,898 1000 ha compare
- 26 Myanmar 3,192 1000 ha compare
- 27 Japan 2,974 1000 ha compare
- 28 Sweden 2,096 1000 ha compare
More environment data for Cameroon
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -8.11 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -7.68 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.211 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.15 °C (2025)
- Wood-based panels — Production, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.6539 % 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 0.4385 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is primary forest — area in Cameroon?
- Primary forest — area in Cameroon was 3,557 1000 ha in 2025, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest primary forest — area recorded in Cameroon?
- The highest recorded value was 4,204 1000 ha in 1990.
- What is the lowest primary forest — area recorded in Cameroon?
- The lowest recorded value was 3,557 1000 ha in 2025.
- How does Cameroon rank for primary forest — area?
- Cameroon ranks 25th out of 182 countries with data for 2025.
- Is primary forest — area rising or falling in Cameroon?
- Over the last ten years it is down 7.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Cameroon 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.