World deforestation rates and forest cover statistics, 2000-2005

Rhett A. Butler

18 years ago

New deforestation figures show Nigeria has worst rate of forest loss

[2010 update]

Nigeria has the world’s highest deforestation rate, Brazil loses the largest area of forest annually, and Congo consumes more bushmeat than any other tropical country. These are among the findings from mongabay.com’s analysis of new deforestation figures from the United Nations.

Monday, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) released its 2005 Global Forest Resources Assessment, a regular report on the status world’s forest resources. Overall, FAO concludes that net deforestation rates have fallen since the 1990-2000 period, but some 13 million hectares of the world’s forests are still lost each year, including 6 million hectares of primary forests. Primary forests — forests with no visible signs of past or present human activities — are considered the most biologically diverse ecosystems on the planet.

Industrial logging, clearing and forest conversion for agriculture, fuelwood collection by rural poor, and forest fires — often purposely set by people — are considered the leading causes of deforestation.

South America

South America — where large tracts of the Amazon rainforest are being cleared for cattle ranches and soybean plantations — suffered the largest net loss of forests between 2000 and 2005 of around 4.3 million hectares per year. Scientists are concerned that forest loss could escalate in the Amazon due to increasingly dry conditions. This year the Amazon suffered the most severe drought on record, leaving rivers dry and communities stranded. Tens of thousands of fires burned.

Africa

Clear-cutting of rainforest in Peru. Tropical deforestation is a major concern to ecologists. They warn that the loss of biodiversity has unknown consequences. Photo: Rhett A. Butler

Please note: mongabay.com features thousands of pages on deforestation. Good places to start include:

Africa suffered the second largest net loss in forests with 4.0 million hectares cleared annually. Nigeria and Sudan were the two largest losers of natural forest during the 2000-2005 period, largely due to subsistence activities. At 11.1%, Nigeria’s annual deforestation rate of natural forest is the highest in the world and puts it on pace to lose virtually all of its primary forest within a few years. Malawi, currently in the midst of a severe drought and famine, has the world’s fourth highest deforestation rate.

FAO figures also show Africa is more dependent on bushmeat — wild animals captured as food — than other tropical regions. Bushmeat availability has increased with the construction of logging roads in the rainforest and a number of well-known species including gorillas, chimpanzees, and monkeys are considered at highest risk. There is growing concern among health experts that bushmeat consumption may be linked to the outbreak of unusual tropical diseases including the Ebola virus and Marburg, which broke out earlier this year in Angola. Primates are known to be carriers of these diseases.

Central America, South Asia, and Southeast Asia lead deforestation rates

The regions with the highest tropical deforestation rate were Central America — which lost 1.3% or 285,000 hectares of its forests each year — and tropical Asia. Tropical Asia —

Worst deforestation rate of natural forests, 2000-2005
Credits: R. Butler

including the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, East Timor, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam — lost about 1% of its forests each year. According to FAO, Vietnam lost a staggering 51% of its primary forests between 2000 and 2005, while Cambodia lost 29% of its primary forests between 2000 and 2005 [Cambodia’s figures were revised by the FAO after this article was published. Original data showed Cambodia’s primary forest cover declining to 122,000 hectares in 2005 from 356,000 hectares in 2000. The new FAO data says Cambodia’s current primary forest cover stands at 322,000 hectares]. Illegal logging, combined with rapid development, is blamed for much of Cambodia’s forest loss.

Plantations offsetting natural forest

Due to a significant increase in plantation forests, forest cover has generally been expanding in North America, Europe and China while diminishing in the tropics. Plantations help offset the loss of natural forests but essentially result in an overall decline in global biodiversity as single species plantations replace their biologically richer natural counterparts.

The United States

The United States has the seventh largest annual loss of primary forests in the world, according to FAO. In the 2000-2005 period, the United States lost an average of 831 square miles (215,200 hectares, 2,152 square kilometers or 531,771 acres) of such lands which are sometimes termed “old-growth forests.”

Highest deforestation of natural forests, 2000-2005. All countries. Credits: R. Butler

Overall, when plantations are added to the picture, the US gained a net 614 square miles (159,000 hectares) of forest per year. The FAO report suggests America’s primary forests are losing ground to modified natural, seminatural, and plantation forests. Earlier this year, the government revoked President Clinton’s 2001 “Roadless Area Conservation Rule” that protected 58.5 million acres of undeveloped national forest, in effect opening more than 90,000 square miles of forests to road construction, logging and industrial development.

UN figures contested

Gold-mining operation the Peruvian Amazon. Scientists are concerned over the global impact of deforestation in the tropics. The loss of forests adds the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide to the atmosphere while affecting local rainfall. Photo: Rhett A. Butler

Some environmental groups have criticized the UN numbers as “misleading and inaccurate” saying that FAO is using industrial plantations to offset deforestation figures for natural forests while relying on flawed figures provided by governments that varying standards of forest monitoring. The London-based Rainforest Foundation notes that “the UN figure is based on a definition of forest as being an area with as little as 10% actual tree cover, which would therefore include areas that are actually savannah-like ecosystems and badly damaged forests.” Further, says a press release from the organization, “areas of land that presently have no trees on them at all, but that are ‘expected’ to regenerate, are also counted as forests.”

Despite the criticism, industry experts say that FAO has the best figures available across virtually all countries in the world. Mila Alvarez, who tracks forest trends for World Resources Institute and Global Forest Watch (globalforestwatch.org), told the New York Times “The F.A.O. is doing the best it can given what the governments are providing.” Alvarez says the World Resources Institute and other organizations are developing a way to use satellite imagery to analyze forest changes and to verify government estimates.

More deforestation information:

Nigeria has worst deforestation rate, FAO revises figures

Breaking deforestation news at the deforestation blog

Please note: mongabay.com features thousands of pages on deforestation. Good places to start include:

Deforestation Charts

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Deforestation in the Brazlian Amazon, 1988-present
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Causes of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon, 2000-2005
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Share of tropical deforestation, 2000-2005
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Deforestation rates by country, 1990-2005
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Regional drivers of deforestation
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Forest Tables
All area figures are in hectares.

Worst deforestation rate of primary forests, 2000-2005. All countries.

1	Nigeria	55.7%
2	Viet Nam	54.5%
3	Cambodia	29.4%
4	Sri Lanka	15.2%
5	Malawi	14.9%
6	Indonesia	12.9%
7	North Korea	9.3%
8	Nepal	9.1%
9	Panama	6.7%
10	Guatemala	6.4%

Highest average annual deforestation of primary forests, 2000-2005, by area. All countries

1	Brazil	-3,466,000
2	Indonesia	-1,447,800
3	Russian Federation	-532,200
4	Mexico	-395,000
5	Papua New Guinea	-250,200
6	Peru	-224,600
7	United States of America	-215,200
8	Bolivia	-135,200
9	Sudan	-117,807
10	Nigeria	-82,000

Highest average annual deforestation of primary forests, 2000-2005, by area. Tropical countries

1	Brazil	-3,466,000
2	Indonesia	-1,447,800
3	Mexico	-395,000
4	Papua New Guinea	-250,200
5	Peru	-224,600
6	Bolivia	-135,200
7	Sudan	-117,807
8	Nigeria	-82,000
9	Cambodia	-66,800
10	Colombia	-56,160
11	Panama	-43,200
12	Malawi	-39,600
13	Guatemala	-26,834
14	Viet Nam	-20,400
15	Democratic People’s Republic of Korea	-17,400
16	French Guiana	-12,000
17	Senegal	-11,000
18	Nepal	-7,000
19	Madagascar	-6,800
20	Sri Lanka	-6,000

Most primary forest cover, 2005. All countries

1	Brazil	415,890
2	Russian Federation	255,470
3	Canada	165,424
4	United States of America	104,182
5	Peru	61,065
6	Colombia	53,062
7	Indonesia	48,702
8	Mexico	32,850
9	Bolivia	29,360
10	Papua New Guinea	25,211

Most primary forest cover, 2005. Tropical countries

1	Brazil	415,890
2	Peru	61,065
3	Colombia	53,062
4	Indonesia	48,702
5	Mexico	32,850
6	Bolivia	29,360
7	Papua New Guinea	25,211
8	Suriname	14,214
9	Sudan	13,509
10	Madagascar	10,347
11	Guyana	9,314
12	French Guiana	7,701
13	Congo	7,464
14	Thailand	6,451
15	Ecuador	4,794

Most “tropical rainforest”, 2005. These rankings are estimates.

	1		Brazil
	2		Congo, Dem Rep
	3		Peru
	4		Indonesia
	5		Colombia
	6		Papua New Guinea
	7		Venezuela
	8		Bolivia
	9		Mexico
	10		Suriname
	11		Guyana
	12		Madagascar
	13		French Guiana
	14		Congo
	15		Ecuador
	16		Thailand
	17		Malaysia
	18		Panama
	19		Guatemala
	20		Nicaragua
	21		Honduras
	22		Laos
	23		Philippines
	24		Côte d’Ivoire
	25		Belize

Most number of native tree species, 2005. All countries

1	Brazil	7,880
2	Colombia	5,000
3	Madagascar	5,000
4	Belize	4,000
5	Philippines	3,000
6	Bolivia	2,700
7	Malaysia	2,650
8	Zambia	2,621
9	Peru	2,500
10	China	2,500
11	Guinea-Bissau	2,243
12	Australia	2,100
13	Singapore	2,013
14	Brunei Darussalam	2,000
15	Myanmar	2,000
16	Zimbabwe	1,747
17	Mali	1,739
18	Lao People’s Democratic Republic	1,457
19	Togo	1,451
20	Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)	1,360

The Democratic Republic of Congo should be on this list, but FAO does not have figures for this war-torn country.

Highest total forest cover as a percentage of total land cover, 2005. All countries

1	Suriname	94.7
2	French Guiana	91.8
3	Micronesia (Federated States of)	90.6
4	American Samoa	89.4
5	Seychelles	88.9
6	Palau	87.6
7	Gabon	84.5
8	Pitcairn	83.3
9	Turks and Caicos Islands	80
10	Solomon Islands	77.6
11	Guyana	76.7
12	Finland	73.9
13	Guinea-Bissau	73.7
14	Belize	72.5
15	Northern Mariana Islands	72.4
16	Anguilla	71.4
17	Lao People’s Democratic Republic	69.9
18	Japan	68.2
19	Bhutan	68
20	Sweden	66.9

Includes plantations, non-natural and degraded forests

Highest total forest cover as a percentage of total land cover, 2005. All tropical countries.

1	Suriname	94.7
2	French Guiana	91.8
3	Micronesia (Federated States of)	90.6
4	American Samoa	89.4
5	Seychelles	88.9
6	Palau	87.6
7	Gabon	84.5
8	Solomon Islands	77.6
9	Guyana	76.7
10	Guinea-Bissau	73.7
11	Belize	72.5
12	Northern Mariana Islands	72.4
13	Anguilla	71.4
14	Lao People’s Democratic Republic	69.9
15	Bhutan	68
16	Cook Islands	66.5
17	Congo	65.8
18	Papua New Guinea	65
19	Malaysia	63.6
20	Dominica	61.3

Includes plantations, non-natural and degraded forests

Highest total forest cover as a percentage of total land cover, 2005. All tropical countries excluding small islands

1	Suriname	94.7
2	French Guiana	91.8
3	Seychelles	88.9
4	Gabon	84.5
5	Guyana	76.7
6	Guinea-Bissau	73.7
7	Belize	72.5
8	Lao People’s Democratic Republic	69.9
9	Bhutan	68
10	Congo	65.8
11	Papua New Guinea	65
12	Malaysia	63.6
13	Cambodia	59.2
14	Democratic Republic of the Congo	58.9
15	Colombia	58.5
16	Equatorial Guinea	58.2
17	Panama	57.7
18	Brazil	57.2
19	Zambia	57.1
20	Bolivia	54.2

Includes plantations, non-natural and degraded forests

Total forest cover, 2005. All countries

1	Russian Federation	808,790,000
2	Brazil	477,698,000
3	Canada	310,134,000
4	United States of America	303,089,000
5	China	197,290,000
6	Australia	163,678,000
7	Democratic Republic of the Congo	133,610,000
8	Indonesia	88,495,000
9	Peru	68,742,000
10	India	67,701,000
11	Sudan	67,546,000
12	Mexico	64,238,000
13	Colombia	60,728,000
14	Angola	59,104,000
15	Bolivia	58,740,000
16	Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)	47,713,000
17	Zambia	42,452,000
18	United Republic of Tanzania	35,257,000
19	Argentina	33,021,000
20	Myanmar	32,222,000

Includes plantations, non-natural and degraded forests

Total forest cover, 2005. Tropical countries

1	Brazil	477,698,000
2	Democratic Republic of the Congo	133,610,000
3	Indonesia	88,495,000
4	Peru	68,742,000
5	India	67,701,000
6	Sudan	67,546,000
7	Mexico	64,238,000
8	Colombia	60,728,000
9	Angola	59,104,000
10	Bolivia	58,740,000
11	Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)	47,713,000
12	Zambia	42,452,000
13	United Republic of Tanzania	35,257,000
14	Myanmar	32,222,000
15	Papua New Guinea	29,437,000
16	Central African Republic	22,755,000
17	Congo	22,471,000
18	Gabon	21,775,000
19	Cameroon	21,245,000
20	Malaysia	20,890,000

Includes plantations, non-natural and degraded forests

Cayman Islands |
Central African Republic |

North Korea |

Northern Mariana Islands |
Norway |

Western Sahara  |
Yemen  |
Zambia  |
Zimbabwe