Deforestation statistics vary depending on which dataset you use, what definition of “forest” is applied, and whether the numbers measure gross loss or net change. This matters because the gap between different sources can be enormous: Global Forest Watch reports over 30 million hectares of tree cover loss in 2024, while the FAO’s net deforestation figure for the same period is closer to 4 million hectares. Both numbers are correct; they measure different things.
This article compiles the most current deforestation statistics from the main global datasets, including the FAO FRA 2025 released in October 2025, and breaks down the data by region, country, and commodity.
Key Deforestation Statistics [2025-2026]
These are the headline figures from the most recent data releases:
4.14 billion hectares of forest remain globally, covering 32% of the world’s land area (FAO FRA 2025).
6.7 million hectares of tropical primary forest lost in 2024, the highest annual total on record (Global Forest Watch / WRI).
30+ million hectares of total tree cover loss globally in 2024, including temperate and boreal regions (Hansen Global Forest Change).
10.9 million hectares/year gross deforestation for 2015-2025, down from 17.6 million in the 1990s (FAO FRA 2025).
489 million hectares of forest lost since 1990, an area larger than the EU (FAO FRA 2025).
3.2 million hectares of fire-driven tropical primary forest loss in 2024, a 370% increase from 2023. For the first time, fires surpassed agriculture as the leading cause (WRI).
3.1 gigatonnes CO2 released from tropical deforestation and forest fires in 2024, exceeding India’s total annual emissions (Global Forest Watch).
11% of global greenhouse gas emissions come from deforestation (IPCC Sixth Assessment Report).
Global Deforestation Rate
The global deforestation rate has slowed in net terms but increased in gross tropical terms. The FAO’s FRA 2025, released in October 2025, reports that gross deforestation dropped from 17.6 million hectares/year in the 1990s to 10.9 million hectares/year in 2015-2025. Net annual forest loss fell to 4.12 million hectares/year over the same period, down from 7.8 million in the 1990s. “Net” means new forest (reforestation and natural regrowth) is subtracted from gross loss.
However, forest expansion is slowing. New forest area added fell from 9.9 million hectares/year in 2000-2010 to 6.8 million hectares/year in 2015-2025, according to FRA 2025. As expansion slows and fires intensify, the gap between gross loss and net recovery may widen.
The Global Forest Watch data tells a different story for the tropics. Gross tropical primary forest loss has trended upward, reaching 6.7 million hectares in 2024. Primary forest, the old-growth forest that stores the most carbon and supports the greatest biodiversity, cannot be replaced by planting new trees. A 30-year-old plantation is not ecologically equivalent to a 300-year-old primary forest.
The 2025 Forest Declaration Assessment concluded that global deforestation remains 63% higher than the rate needed to meet the 2030 zero-deforestation target, calling it “the midpoint where the curve has not begun to bend.”
Fire-Driven Loss: A Structural Shift
2024 marked a turning point. Fire-driven tropical primary forest loss hit 3.2 million hectares, a 370% increase from 2023’s 690,000 hectares. For the first time on record, fires surpassed agriculture as the leading cause of tropical primary forest loss, accounting for roughly 50% of all loss. Drought conditions linked to the El Nino cycle dried out forests across the Amazon, Bolivia, and Central Africa, leading to burns in areas that do not normally experience fire.
Climate models project more frequent and severe fire seasons as global temperatures rise, which may push deforestation statistics higher even in countries where enforcement is strong.
Deforestation by Region and Country
Latin America
Latin America accounts for the largest share of global tropical deforestation. Brazil leads in absolute terms despite ongoing reductions. Bolivia overtook Indonesia as the world’s second-largest source of tropical primary forest loss in 2024. Several Central American countries saw record proportional loss.
Key country statistics:
- Brazil: 5,796 km2 Amazon deforestation in 2024-25 (INPE PRODES), 11% drop year-over-year. As of February 2026, Brazil is on pace for the lowest PRODES year on record, with 1,325 km2 detected in the first six months. However, fire-driven primary forest loss surged 110% in the Amazon biome, with 60% of all loss fire-related.
- Bolivia: 1.5 million hectares of primary forest lost in 2024 (GFW), a 200% increase from 441,000 hectares in 2023. Fires hit roughly 12% of the country. Bolivia is now the second-largest source of tropical deforestation globally.
- Colombia: 79,256 hectares deforested in 2023 (IDEAM); 2024 saw an estimated 50% jump in primary forest loss.
- Peru: 135% increase in fire-driven primary forest loss in 2024 (GFW).
- Nicaragua: 4.7% of its primary forest lost in 2024, the highest proportional loss of any country. 78% of loss occurred inside the Bosawas Biosphere Reserve.
Central Africa
The Congo Basin has the world’s second-largest tropical forest and is the fastest-growing deforestation frontier. The Democratic Republic of Congo consistently ranks among the top three globally for primary forest loss.
- DRC: 1.3 million hectares primary forest lost in 2023 (GFW); fires drove 45% of 2024 loss
- Republic of Congo: 150% increase in primary forest loss in 2024 (GFW)
- Drivers: smallholder agriculture, charcoal production, artisanal mining, and increasingly fire
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asian deforestation has declined from its 2012-2016 peak, driven by Indonesia’s moratorium on new palm oil concessions in primary forest and peatland.
- Indonesia: 242,000 hectares primary forest lost in 2024 (GFW), an 11% decrease from 279,000 hectares in 2023 and well below the mid-2010s peak. Cumulative tree cover loss: 28+ million hectares since 2001.
- Malaysia: 8.1 million hectares total tree cover lost 2001-2023 (GFW)
- Primary driver: oil palm, followed by pulp and paper plantations
Deforestation by Commodity
Commodity-driven deforestation accounts for roughly 30% of global tree cover loss, according to research published in Global Environmental Change. The remaining 70% comes from shifting agriculture, wildfire, forestry operations, and urbanization. The commodity share is higher in the tropics, where export-oriented agriculture is the primary driver.
Estimated commodity contributions to tropical deforestation:
- Cattle: 36% of commodity-driven tropical deforestation (primarily Brazil)
- Palm oil: 10% (primarily Indonesia, Malaysia)
- Soy: 8% (primarily Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay)
- Cocoa: 4% (primarily Ivory Coast, Ghana)
- Coffee: 2% (primarily Vietnam, Brazil)
- Rubber: 2% (primarily Southeast Asia)
- Wood/pulp: 6% (global, including temperate)
All seven of these commodities are regulated under the EU Deforestation Regulation, which requires satellite-verified proof of deforestation-free sourcing for EU market access.
Explore Global Deforestation Data
The map below plots commodity-driven deforestation across 15,000 grid cells for five crop commodities tracked by the EU Deforestation Regulation: coffee, cocoa, oil palm, soy, and rubber. Filter by commodity or region and drag the timeline to see how deforestation patterns shifted between 2001 and 2022. The charts above cover all 184 commodities in the DeDuCE dataset, including cattle ranching and forest plantations, which account for the majority of deforestation but lack spatial crop data.
Climate Change Impact
Deforestation and climate change form a two-way relationship. Clearing tropical forest releases stored carbon (roughly 200-300 tonnes CO2/hectare), and the resulting climate warming increases drought and fire risk, which in turn drives more forest loss.
The 2024 fire season illustrated this cycle: El Nino-driven drought dried out tropical forests, fire burned 6.7 million hectares of primary forest (a record), and those fires released 3.1 gigatonnes of CO2. That amount exceeds India’s total annual emissions and ranks tropical deforestation among the world’s largest emission sources.
Global forests still hold an estimated 714 gigatonnes of carbon in living biomass, dead wood, litter, and soil (FAO FRA 2025). But that stock is declining. If current deforestation rates continue, tropical forests could become net carbon sources rather than sinks within two decades, according to the IPCC. The Amazon has already partially crossed this threshold: southeastern Amazonia emits more carbon than it absorbs.
Data Sources and How They Differ
Deforestation statistics from different sources often appear to contradict each other. The reason is methodological: each dataset measures different things using different satellite data and different definitions of “forest.”
FAO Global Forest Resources Assessment (FRA 2025)
The FAO FRA collects data from national governments every five years. The FRA 2025, released October 2025, is the most recent edition and covers data through 2025. It uses each country’s official forest definition (which varies) and reports net change (gross loss minus gains). The FAO definition includes plantations, so a palm oil plantation replacing primary forest may not count as “deforestation” in FAO data if the trees exceed 5 meters tall.
Hansen Global Forest Change (University of Maryland)
The Hansen dataset uses Landsat satellite imagery to detect tree cover loss globally at 30-meter resolution. It measures any loss of tree canopy above 25% height, regardless of cause. This includes commercial forestry (planned harvesting followed by replanting), fire, and conversion to agriculture. The Hansen dataset reports higher numbers than FAO because it counts all tree removal, not just permanent conversion.
Global Forest Watch (WRI)
Global Forest Watch builds on the Hansen data and adds layers for primary forest, fire, commodity-driven deforestation, and country-level trends. Its headline metric, “tropical primary forest loss,” is the most ecologically meaningful because primary forest is irreplaceable on human timescales. GFW also provides land cover context that helps distinguish permanent conversion from temporary disturbance.
Forest Declaration Assessment
The Forest Declaration Assessment is an annual independent review tracking progress against the 2014 New York Declaration on Forests and the 2021 Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration. Its 2025 edition found that 8.1 million hectares of forest were lost in 2024, 63% above the trajectory needed to end deforestation by 2030. It also reported that government subsidies harmful to forests outweigh forest-positive subsidies by a ratio of 200 to 1.
When citing deforestation statistics, always specify the data source and the metric being used. “Tree cover loss” (Hansen) is not the same as “net deforestation” (FAO), and conflating them produces misleading comparisons.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much deforestation happens each year?
The tropics lost 6.7 million hectares of primary forest in 2024, the highest on record according to Global Forest Watch. Total global tree cover loss exceeded 30 million hectares. The FAO FRA 2025 reports gross deforestation of 10.9 million hectares per year for 2015-2025. The difference reflects different measurement methods and definitions.
Which country has the most deforestation?
Brazil has the highest absolute tropical primary forest loss, followed by the Democratic Republic of Congo and Bolivia. Bolivia’s deforestation surged 200% in 2024 to 1.5 million hectares. Brazil recorded 5,796 km2 of Amazon deforestation in 2024-25, and is on pace for the lowest year on record as of early 2026.
What percentage of the world’s forests have been destroyed?
The world has lost 489 million hectares of forest since 1990 according to the FAO FRA 2025, about 11% of total forest area. Since the beginning of human civilization, an estimated 46% of the world’s trees have been cut down. About 4.14 billion hectares of forest remain today.
Why do deforestation statistics differ between sources?
Different sources use different definitions and methods. The FAO reports net change (loss minus gains) using government data and counts plantations as forest. The Hansen dataset detects all tree canopy loss from Landsat satellites, including planned forestry. Global Forest Watch focuses on primary forest loss. The metric, data source, and forest definition all affect the numbers.
How much CO2 does deforestation release?
Deforestation accounts for roughly 11% of global greenhouse gas emissions according to the IPCC. Tropical deforestation and fires released 3.1 gigatonnes of CO2 in 2024, exceeding India’s total annual emissions. Global forests hold 714 gigatonnes of carbon (FAO FRA 2025), concentrated in tropical primary forests at 200-300 tonnes per hectare.
Is the deforestation rate increasing or decreasing?
The net global deforestation rate has slowed, from 7.8 million hectares per year in the 1990s to 4.12 million hectares per year in 2015-2025 (FAO FRA 2025). However, gross tropical primary forest loss reached a record 6.7 million hectares in 2024. The net figure improves because reforestation offsets some losses, but primary forest destruction continues to worsen, driven increasingly by fire.
What is the difference between deforestation and forest degradation?
Deforestation is the complete removal of forest cover, converting land to another use. Forest degradation is a reduction in forest quality (canopy density, biodiversity, carbon stock) while the area still technically qualifies as forest. In 2024, 8.8 million hectares of humid tropical primary forest were degraded. Brazil’s Amazon degradation surged 163% even as its deforestation rate fell. Degradation often precedes full deforestation and is harder to detect by satellite.
Deforestation statistics require context. The headline number depends entirely on which dataset, definition, and time period you choose. For EUDR compliance and supply chain verification, the relevant data is satellite-verified land cover change at specific coordinates relative to December 31, 2020. Global statistics set the context; parcel-level satellite data determines compliance.
