Tree Cover Loss in Democratic Republic of Congo
Democratic Republic of Congo: Tree Cover Loss was 1.29 million hectares in 2025. ▲ Rising
Tree Cover Loss in Democratic Republic of Congo, 2001–2025
Source: Global Forest Watch. Tree Cover Loss (Hansen/UMD/Google/USGS/NASA). Measured in hectares.
Analysis
Democratic Republic of Congo recorded 1.29 million hectares for tree cover loss in 2025.
The figure is down 6.5% on the previous year and up 38.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, tree cover loss in Democratic Republic of Congo peaked at 1.47 million hectares in 2017 and was at its lowest, 274,612 hectares, in 2003.
Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 5th of 189 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 454,023 hectares | 274,612 hectares | 635,436 hectares | 9 |
| 2010s | 1.05 million hectares | 429,465 hectares | 1.47 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.29 million hectares | 1.22 million hectares | 1.38 million hectares | 6 |
Countries ranked near Democratic Republic of Congo
More agriculture & rural data for Democratic Republic of Congo
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 8.13 billion current US$ (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 8.9% (2025)
- Rural population 61.93 million (2025)
- Rural population growth 2.5% (2025)
- Rural population 54.9% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.6% (2023)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.3% (2023)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 8.9% (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 8.9% (2025)
- Land under cereal production 5.03 million hectares (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is tree cover loss in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- Tree cover loss in Democratic Republic of Congo was 1.29 million hectares in 2025, according to Global Forest Watch. Tree Cover Loss (Hansen/UMD/Google/USGS/NASA).
- What is the highest tree cover loss recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- The highest recorded value was 1.47 million hectares in 2017.
- What is the lowest tree cover loss recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- The lowest recorded value was 274,612 hectares in 2003.
- How does Democratic Republic of Congo rank for tree cover loss?
- Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 5th out of 189 countries with data for 2025.
- Is tree cover loss rising or falling in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- Over the last ten years it is up 38.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Democratic Republic of Congo data come from?
- The figures come from Global Forest Watch. Tree Cover Loss (Hansen/UMD/Google/USGS/NASA), published as part of Tree Cover Loss (hectares). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 25 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Shows year-by-year tree cover loss, defined as stand level replacement of vegetation greater than 5 meters, within the selected area. The tree cover loss data set is a collaboration of the University of Maryland, Google, USGS, and NASA, and uses Landsat satellite images to map annual tree cover loss at a 30 × 30 meter resolution. Note that “tree cover loss” is not the same as “deforestation” – tree cover loss includes change in both natural and planted forest, and does not need to be human caused. The data from 2011 onward were produced with an updated methodology that may capture additional loss. Comparisons between the original 2001-2010 data and future years should be performed with caution.