Forest area in Madagascar
Madagascar: Forest area was 12.50 million hectares in 2011. ▼ Falling
Forest area in Madagascar, 1990–2011
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization, electronic files and web site. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
In 2011, forest area in Madagascar stood at 12.50 million hectares. That is the lowest value across all 22 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.5% on the previous year and down 4.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, forest area in Madagascar peaked at 13.69 million hectares in 1990 and was at its lowest, 12.50 million hectares, in 2011.
Madagascar ranks 12th of 53 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 22 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 13.44 million hectares | 13.18 million hectares | 13.69 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 12.87 million hectares | 12.61 million hectares | 13.12 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 12.52 million hectares | 12.50 million hectares | 12.55 million hectares | 2 |
Countries ranked near Madagascar
More agriculture & rural data for Madagascar
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 4.26 billion current US$ (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 21.7% (2025)
- Rural population 21.97 million (2025)
- Rural population growth 1.7% (2025)
- Rural population 67.1% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 2.3% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 1.6% (2024)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 21.7% (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 21.7% (2025)
- Land under cereal production 2.22 million hectares (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is forest area in Madagascar?
- Forest area in Madagascar was 12.50 million hectares in 2011, according to Food and Agriculture Organization, electronic files and web site.
- What is the highest forest area recorded in Madagascar?
- The highest recorded value was 13.69 million hectares in 1990.
- What is the lowest forest area recorded in Madagascar?
- The lowest recorded value was 12.50 million hectares in 2011.
- How does Madagascar rank for forest area?
- Madagascar ranks 12th out of 53 countries with data for 2011.
- Is forest area rising or falling in Madagascar?
- Over the last ten years it is down 4.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Madagascar 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.