Forest area in Africa Eastern and Southern
Africa Eastern and Southern: Forest area was 29.5% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Forest area in Africa Eastern and Southern, 1990–2023
Source: FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Measured in % of land area.
Analysis
In 2023, forest area in Africa Eastern and Southern stood at 29.5%. That is the lowest value across all 34 years on record.
That represents a change of down 0.7% on the previous year and down 6.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, forest area in Africa Eastern and Southern peaked at 43.0% in 1990 and was at its lowest, 29.5%, in 2023.
Africa Eastern and Southern ranks 26th of 47 groups on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 34 years of available data.
Forest area in Africa Eastern and Southern, year by year
| Year | % of land area | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 43.0% | — |
| 1991 | 42.8% | -0.4% |
| 1992 | 42.6% | -0.4% |
| 1993 | 40.3% | -5.5% |
| 1994 | 40.1% | -0.4% |
| 1995 | 39.9% | -0.4% |
| 1996 | 39.8% | -0.4% |
| 1997 | 39.6% | -0.4% |
| 1998 | 39.4% | -0.4% |
| 1999 | 39.3% | -0.4% |
| 2000 | 39.1% | -0.4% |
| 2001 | 38.9% | -0.5% |
| 2002 | 38.7% | -0.5% |
| 2003 | 38.5% | -0.5% |
| 2004 | 37.8% | -1.7% |
| 2005 | 37.6% | -0.5% |
| 2006 | 37.4% | -0.5% |
| 2007 | 37.2% | -0.5% |
| 2008 | 37.0% | -0.5% |
| 2009 | 36.8% | -0.5% |
| 2010 | 36.6% | -0.5% |
| 2011 | 36.4% | -0.7% |
| 2012 | 31.9% | -12.4% |
| 2013 | 31.7% | -0.7% |
| 2014 | 31.5% | -0.7% |
| 2015 | 31.3% | -0.7% |
| 2016 | 31.0% | -0.7% |
| 2017 | 30.8% | -0.7% |
| 2018 | 30.6% | -0.7% |
| 2019 | 30.4% | -0.7% |
| 2020 | 30.2% | -0.7% |
| 2021 | 29.9% | -0.7% |
| 2022 | 29.7% | -0.7% |
| 2023 | 29.5% | -0.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 40.7% | 39.3% | 43.0% | 10 |
| 2000s | 37.9% | 36.8% | 39.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 32.2% | 30.4% | 36.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 29.8% | 29.5% | 30.2% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Africa Eastern and Southern
- 23 Fiji 63.5% compare
- 24 Timor-Leste 61.7% compare
- 25 Montenegro 61.5% compare
- 26 Slovenia 61.2% compare
- 27 Costa Rica 60.4% compare
- 28 Zambia 59.5% compare
- 29 Brazil 59.0% compare
More agriculture & rural data for Africa Eastern and Southern
- Rural population, per capita 0.613 units per person (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 15.4% (2025)
- Rural population 483.55 million (2025)
- Rural population growth 1.8% (2025)
- Rural population 61.3% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.1% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 1.9% (2024)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 265.55 current US$ per person (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 10.18 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.1542 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is forest area in Africa Eastern and Southern?
- Forest area in Africa Eastern and Southern was 29.5% in 2023, according to FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
- What is the highest forest area recorded in Africa Eastern and Southern?
- The highest recorded value was 43.0% in 1990.
- What is the lowest forest area recorded in Africa Eastern and Southern?
- The lowest recorded value was 29.5% in 2023.
- How does Africa Eastern and Southern rank for forest area?
- Africa Eastern and Southern ranks 26th out of 47 groups with data for 2023.
- Is forest area rising or falling in Africa Eastern and Southern?
- Over the last ten years it is down 6.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Africa Eastern and Southern data come from?
- The figures come from FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), published as part of Forest area (% of land area). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 34 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Forest area (% of land area) is the share of total land area that is 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.