Primary Forest — Area in Eastern Africa
Eastern Africa: Primary Forest — Area was 8,583 1000 ha in 2025. ▼ Falling
Primary Forest — Area in Eastern 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 Eastern Africa is 8,583 1000 ha, measured in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 36 years on record.
That represents a change of down 1.1% on the previous year and down 9.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, primary forest — area in Eastern Africa peaked at 11,619 1000 ha in 1990 and was at its lowest, 8,583 1000 ha, in 2025.
Eastern Africa ranks 22nd of 31 groups on this measure, 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 Eastern Africa, year by year
| Year | 1000 ha | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 11,619 1000 ha | — |
| 1991 | 11,559 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 1992 | 11,499 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 1993 | 11,438 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 1994 | 11,378 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 1995 | 11,318 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 1996 | 11,257 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 1997 | 11,197 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 1998 | 11,137 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 1999 | 11,077 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2000 | 11,016 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2001 | 10,929 1000 ha | -0.8% |
| 2002 | 10,841 1000 ha | -0.8% |
| 2003 | 10,753 1000 ha | -0.8% |
| 2004 | 10,666 1000 ha | -0.8% |
| 2005 | 10,578 1000 ha | -0.8% |
| 2006 | 10,490 1000 ha | -0.8% |
| 2007 | 10,403 1000 ha | -0.8% |
| 2008 | 10,315 1000 ha | -0.8% |
| 2009 | 10,227 1000 ha | -0.9% |
| 2010 | 10,140 1000 ha | -0.9% |
| 2011 | 10,016 1000 ha | -1.2% |
| 2012 | 9,892 1000 ha | -1.2% |
| 2013 | 9,769 1000 ha | -1.3% |
| 2014 | 9,645 1000 ha | -1.3% |
| 2015 | 9,521 1000 ha | -1.3% |
| 2016 | 9,428 1000 ha | -1.0% |
| 2017 | 9,334 1000 ha | -1.0% |
| 2018 | 9,240 1000 ha | -1.0% |
| 2019 | 9,146 1000 ha | -1.0% |
| 2020 | 9,053 1000 ha | -1.0% |
| 2021 | 8,959 1000 ha | -1.0% |
| 2022 | 8,865 1000 ha | -1.0% |
| 2023 | 8,771 1000 ha | -1.1% |
| 2024 | 8,677 1000 ha | -1.1% |
| 2025 | 8,583 1000 ha | -1.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 11,348 1000 ha | 11,077 1000 ha | 11,619 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2000s | 10,622 1000 ha | 10,227 1000 ha | 11,016 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2010s | 9,613 1000 ha | 9,146 1000 ha | 10,140 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2020s | 8,818 1000 ha | 8,583 1000 ha | 9,053 1000 ha | 6 |
Countries ranked near Eastern Africa
- 19 Suriname 9,701 1000 ha compare
- 20 Guyana 9,477 1000 ha compare
- 21 Chile 8,928 1000 ha compare
- 22 French Guiana 7,587 1000 ha compare
- 23 Madagascar 7,373 1000 ha compare
- 24 Central African Republic 3,898 1000 ha compare
- 25 Cameroon 3,557 1000 ha compare
More environment data for Eastern Africa
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -5.98 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -7.18 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.229 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.28 °C (2025)
- Value Added (Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing) — Value US$, 2015 107,047 million USD (2024)
- Industrial roundwood — Export value 97,059 1000 USD (2024)
- Industrial roundwood, coniferous — Production 4.52 million m3 (2024)
- Wood charcoal — Production 17.47 million t (2024)
- Other industrial roundwood, non-coniferous (production) — Production 11.13 million m3 (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is primary forest — area in Eastern Africa?
- Primary forest — area in Eastern Africa was 8,583 1000 ha in 2025, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest primary forest — area recorded in Eastern Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 11,619 1000 ha in 1990.
- What is the lowest primary forest — area recorded in Eastern Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 8,583 1000 ha in 2025.
- How does Eastern Africa rank for primary forest — area?
- Eastern Africa ranks 22nd out of 31 groups with data for 2025.
- Is primary forest — area rising or falling in Eastern Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 9.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Eastern 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.