Primary Forest — Area in Democratic Republic of the Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo: Primary Forest — Area was 100,216 1000 ha in 2025. ▼ Falling
Primary Forest — Area in Democratic Republic of the Congo, 1990–2025
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in 1000 ha.
Analysis
Democratic Republic of the Congo recorded 100,216 1000 ha for primary forest — area in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 36 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.2% on the previous year and down 2.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, primary forest — area in Democratic Republic of the Congo peaked at 115,589 1000 ha in 1990 and was at its lowest, 100,216 1000 ha, in 2025.
Democratic Republic of the Congo ranks 6th of 182 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 36 years of available data.
Primary Forest — Area in Democratic Republic of the Congo, year by year
| Year | 1000 ha | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 115,589 1000 ha | — |
| 1991 | 115,103 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 1992 | 114,617 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 1993 | 114,131 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 1994 | 113,645 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 1995 | 113,159 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 1996 | 112,673 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 1997 | 112,187 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 1998 | 111,701 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 1999 | 111,215 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 2000 | 110,729 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 2001 | 110,243 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 2002 | 109,757 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 2003 | 109,271 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 2004 | 108,785 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 2005 | 108,299 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 2006 | 107,813 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 2007 | 107,327 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2008 | 106,841 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2009 | 106,355 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2010 | 105,869 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2011 | 105,146 1000 ha | -0.7% |
| 2012 | 104,423 1000 ha | -0.7% |
| 2013 | 103,699 1000 ha | -0.7% |
| 2014 | 102,976 1000 ha | -0.7% |
| 2015 | 102,253 1000 ha | -0.7% |
| 2016 | 102,049 1000 ha | -0.2% |
| 2017 | 101,846 1000 ha | -0.2% |
| 2018 | 101,642 1000 ha | -0.2% |
| 2019 | 101,438 1000 ha | -0.2% |
| 2020 | 101,235 1000 ha | -0.2% |
| 2021 | 101,031 1000 ha | -0.2% |
| 2022 | 100,827 1000 ha | -0.2% |
| 2023 | 100,623 1000 ha | -0.2% |
| 2024 | 100,420 1000 ha | -0.2% |
| 2025 | 100,216 1000 ha | -0.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 113,402 1000 ha | 111,215 1000 ha | 115,589 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2000s | 108,542 1000 ha | 106,355 1000 ha | 110,729 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2010s | 103,134 1000 ha | 101,438 1000 ha | 105,869 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2020s | 100,725 1000 ha | 100,216 1000 ha | 101,235 1000 ha | 6 |
Countries ranked near Democratic Republic of the Congo
More environment data for Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -10.22 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -10.46 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.193 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.17 °C (2025)
- Cropland — Share in Agricultural land 50.42 % (2024)
- Agricultural land — Value of agricultural production (Int. $) per Area 361.16 USD_PPP/ha (2024)
- Cropland — Share in Land area 8.16 % (2024)
- Cropland — Area per capita 0.17 ha/cap (2024)
- Arable land — Area 16,516 1000 ha (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is primary forest — area in Democratic Republic of the Congo?
- Primary forest — area in Democratic Republic of the Congo was 100,216 1000 ha in 2025, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest primary forest — area recorded in Democratic Republic of the Congo?
- The highest recorded value was 115,589 1000 ha in 1990.
- What is the lowest primary forest — area recorded in Democratic Republic of the Congo?
- The lowest recorded value was 100,216 1000 ha in 2025.
- How does Democratic Republic of the Congo rank for primary forest — area?
- Democratic Republic of the Congo ranks 6th out of 182 countries with data for 2025.
- Is primary forest — area rising or falling in Democratic Republic of the Congo?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Democratic Republic of the Congo 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.