Primary Forest — Area in Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa: Primary Forest — Area was 162,234 1000 ha in 2025. ▼ Falling
Primary Forest — Area in Sub-Saharan 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 Sub-Saharan Africa is 162,234 1000 ha, measured in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 36 years on record.
That represents a change of down 0.3% on the previous year and down 3.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, primary forest — area in Sub-Saharan Africa peaked at 190,167 1000 ha in 1990 and was at its lowest, 162,234 1000 ha, in 2025.
That places Sub-Saharan Africa 10th 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 Sub-Saharan Africa, year by year
| Year | 1000 ha | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 190,167 1000 ha | — |
| 1991 | 189,417 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 1992 | 188,666 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 1993 | 187,915 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 1994 | 187,164 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 1995 | 186,414 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 1996 | 185,663 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 1997 | 184,912 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 1998 | 184,161 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 1999 | 183,411 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 2000 | 182,660 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 2001 | 181,752 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2002 | 180,844 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2003 | 179,936 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2004 | 179,028 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2005 | 178,121 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2006 | 177,213 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2007 | 176,305 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2008 | 175,397 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2009 | 174,489 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2010 | 173,581 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 2011 | 172,411 1000 ha | -0.7% |
| 2012 | 171,240 1000 ha | -0.7% |
| 2013 | 170,070 1000 ha | -0.7% |
| 2014 | 168,899 1000 ha | -0.7% |
| 2015 | 167,729 1000 ha | -0.7% |
| 2016 | 167,172 1000 ha | -0.3% |
| 2017 | 166,616 1000 ha | -0.3% |
| 2018 | 166,059 1000 ha | -0.3% |
| 2019 | 165,502 1000 ha | -0.3% |
| 2020 | 164,946 1000 ha | -0.3% |
| 2021 | 164,403 1000 ha | -0.3% |
| 2022 | 163,861 1000 ha | -0.3% |
| 2023 | 163,319 1000 ha | -0.3% |
| 2024 | 162,776 1000 ha | -0.3% |
| 2025 | 162,234 1000 ha | -0.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 186,789 1000 ha | 183,411 1000 ha | 190,167 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2000s | 178,574 1000 ha | 174,489 1000 ha | 182,660 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2010s | 168,928 1000 ha | 165,502 1000 ha | 173,581 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2020s | 163,590 1000 ha | 162,234 1000 ha | 164,946 1000 ha | 6 |
Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa
More environment data for Sub-Saharan Africa
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -7.11 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -6.36 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.223 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.21 °C (2025)
- Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 305.43 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Aquaculture production 904,662 metric tons (2024)
- Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 2.29 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from Transport (Energy) 2.96 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Permanent meadows and pastures — Share in Agricultural land 72.81 % (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is primary forest — area in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Primary forest — area in Sub-Saharan Africa was 162,234 1000 ha in 2025, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest primary forest — area recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 190,167 1000 ha in 1990.
- What is the lowest primary forest — area recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 162,234 1000 ha in 2025.
- How does Sub-Saharan Africa rank for primary forest — area?
- Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 10th out of 31 groups with data for 2025.
- Is primary forest — area rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 3.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sub-Saharan 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.