Primary Forest — Area in Western Africa
Western Africa: Primary Forest — Area was 4,296 1000 ha in 2025. ▼ Falling
Primary Forest — Area in Western Africa, 1990–2025
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in 1000 ha.
Analysis
Western Africa recorded 4,296 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 0.3% on the previous year and down 3.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, primary forest — area in Western Africa peaked at 6,982 1000 ha in 1990 and was at its lowest, 4,296 1000 ha, in 2025.
That places Western Africa 23rd out of 35 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.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 6,506 1000 ha | 6,029 1000 ha | 6,982 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2000s | 5,477 1000 ha | 5,030 1000 ha | 5,923 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2010s | 4,582 1000 ha | 4,388 1000 ha | 4,931 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2020s | 4,333 1000 ha | 4,296 1000 ha | 4,370 1000 ha | 6 |
Countries ranked near Western Africa
More environment data for Western Africa
- Agricultural land — Value of agricultural production (Int. $) per Area 486.46 USD_PPP/ha (2024)
- Nutrient potash K2O (total) — Use per capita 0.53 kg/cap (2024)
- Nutrient potash K2O (total) — Use per value of agricultural production 1.68 g/Int$ (2024)
- Country area — Area 614,753 1000 ha (2024)
- Land area — Area 606,405 1000 ha (2024)
- Agriculture — Area 298,420 1000 ha (2024)
- Agricultural land — Area 298,420 1000 ha (2024)
- Agricultural land — Share in Land area 49.21 % (2024)
- Arable land — Share in Agricultural land 33.2 % (2024)
- Arable land — Area 99,061 1000 ha (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is primary forest — area in Western Africa?
- Primary forest — area in Western Africa was 4,296 1000 ha in 2025, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest primary forest — area recorded in Western Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 6,982 1000 ha in 1990.
- What is the lowest primary forest — area recorded in Western Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 4,296 1000 ha in 2025.
- How does Western Africa rank for primary forest — area?
- Western Africa ranks 23rd out of 35 groups with data for 2025.
- Is primary forest — area rising or falling in Western Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 3.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Western 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.