Forest area in Benin
Benin: Forest area was 4.51 million hectares in 2011. ▼ Falling
Forest area in Benin, 1990–2011
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization, electronic files and web site. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
In 2011, forest area in Benin stood at 4.51 million hectares. That is the lowest value across all 22 years on record.
The figure is down 1.1% on the previous year and down 10.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, forest area in Benin peaked at 5.76 million hectares in 1990 and was at its lowest, 4.51 million hectares, in 2011.
Benin ranks 27th of 53 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 22 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 5.45 million hectares | 5.13 million hectares | 5.76 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 4.84 million hectares | 4.61 million hectares | 5.06 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 4.54 million hectares | 4.51 million hectares | 4.56 million hectares | 2 |
Countries ranked near Benin
More agriculture & rural data for Benin
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 5.63 billion current US$ (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 22.9% (2025)
- Rural population 6.91 million (2025)
- Rural population growth 0.7% (2025)
- Rural population 46.6% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.8% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 52.9% (2024)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 22.9% (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 22.9% (2025)
- Land under cereal production 2.14 million hectares (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is forest area in Benin?
- Forest area in Benin was 4.51 million hectares in 2011, according to Food and Agriculture Organization, electronic files and web site.
- What is the highest forest area recorded in Benin?
- The highest recorded value was 5.76 million hectares in 1990.
- What is the lowest forest area recorded in Benin?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.51 million hectares in 2011.
- How does Benin rank for forest area?
- Benin ranks 27th out of 53 countries with data for 2011.
- Is forest area rising or falling in Benin?
- Over the last ten years it is down 10.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Benin data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization, electronic files and web site, published as part of Forest area (hectares). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 22 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Forest area is land under natural or planted stands of trees of at least 5 meters in situ, whether productive or not, and excludes tree stands in agricultural production systems (for example, in fruit plantations and agroforestry systems) and trees in urban parks and gardens.