Share of forest area within protected areas in Congo
Congo: Share of forest area within protected areas was 13.0% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Share of forest area within protected areas in Congo, 1990–2025
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2025, share of forest area within protected areas in Congo stood at 13.0%. That is the highest value across all 10 years on record.
That represents a change of up 5.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of forest area within protected areas in Congo peaked at 13.0% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 8.6%, in 1990.
Congo ranks 123rd of 197 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 10 years of available data.
Share of forest area within protected areas in Congo, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 8.6% | — |
| 2000 | 10.2% | +18.0% |
| 2010 | 10.4% | +2.7% |
| 2015 | 12.3% | +18.2% |
| 2016 | 17.8% | +43.9% |
| 2017 | 17.8% | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 17.8% | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 17.8% | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 13.0% | -27.0% |
| 2025 | 13.0% | +0.0% |
Congo compared with similar countries
- Congo's 13.0% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 17.4%, 74% of the median. (42 countries reporting)
- Congo's 13.0% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 19.7%, 66% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 8.6% | 8.6% | 8.6% | 1 |
| 2000s | 10.2% | 10.2% | 10.2% | 1 |
| 2010s | 15.6% | 10.4% | 17.8% | 6 |
| 2020s | 13.0% | 13.0% | 13.0% | 2 |
Countries ranked near Congo
More environment data for Congo
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -9.96 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -6.68 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.202 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.13 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.8453 % 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 -0.4756 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of forest area within protected areas in Congo?
- Share of forest area within protected areas in Congo was 13.0% in 2025, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of forest area within protected areas recorded in Congo?
- The highest recorded value was 13.0% in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of forest area within protected areas recorded in Congo?
- The lowest recorded value was 8.6% in 1990.
- How does Congo rank for share of forest area within protected areas?
- Congo ranks 123rd out of 197 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of forest area within protected areas rising or falling in Congo?
- Over the last ten years it is up 5.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Congo data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of forest area within protected areas. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 10 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Proportion of forest area within legally established protected areas (%).