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Forest area in Malawi

Malawi: Forest area was 22.4% in 2023. ▼ Falling

Latest (2023)
22.4%
Change on year
down 1.9%
World rank
127th
of 214 countries
All-time high
37.1%
in 1990
All-time low
22.4%
in 2023
Years of data
34
1990–2023

Forest area in Malawi, 1990–2023

0102030401990200620231990: 37.1 % of land area1991: 36.7 % of land area1992: 36.3 % of land area1993: 35.8 % of land area1994: 35.4 % of land area1995: 34.9 % of land area1996: 34.5 % of land area1997: 34 % of land area1998: 33.6 % of land area1999: 33.1 % of land area2000: 32.7 % of land area2001: 32.2 % of land area2002: 31.8 % of land area2003: 31.4 % of land area2004: 30.9 % of land area2005: 30.5 % of land area2006: 30 % of land area2007: 29.6 % of land area2008: 29.1 % of land area2009: 28.7 % of land area2010: 28.2 % of land area2011: 27.8 % of land area2012: 27.3 % of land area2013: 26.9 % of land area2014: 26.4 % of land area2015: 26 % of land area2016: 25.6 % of land area2017: 25.1 % of land area2018: 24.7 % of land area2019: 24.2 % of land area2020: 23.8 % of land area2021: 23.3 % of land area2022: 22.9 % of land area2023: 22.4 % of land area

Source: FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Measured in % of land area.

Analysis

In 2023, forest area in Malawi stood at 22.4%. That is the lowest value across all 34 years on record.

That represents a change of down 1.9% on the previous year and down 16.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, forest area in Malawi peaked at 37.1% in 1990 and was at its lowest, 22.4%, in 2023.

Malawi ranks 127th of 214 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 34 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 35.1% 33.1% 37.1% 10
2000s 30.7% 28.7% 32.7% 10
2010s 26.2% 24.2% 28.2% 10
2020s 23.1% 22.4% 23.8% 4

Countries ranked near Malawi

  1. 124 Nigeria 23.2% compare
  2. 125 Belgium 22.6% compare
  3. 126 Hungary 22.4% compare
  4. 128 Gambia 22.3% compare
  5. 129 Burkina Faso 22.2% compare
  6. 130 Togo 22.1% compare

See the full ranking of 261 places →

More agriculture & rural data for Malawi

All data for Malawi →

Frequently asked questions

What is forest area in Malawi?
Forest area in Malawi was 22.4% in 2023, according to FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
What is the highest forest area recorded in Malawi?
The highest recorded value was 37.1% in 1990.
What is the lowest forest area recorded in Malawi?
The lowest recorded value was 22.4% in 2023.
How does Malawi rank for forest area?
Malawi ranks 127th out of 214 countries with data for 2023.
Is forest area rising or falling in Malawi?
Over the last ten years it is down 16.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Malawi 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

Indicator
Forest area (% of land area)
Unit
% of land area
Source
FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
261 places, 8,639 data points, 1990–2023
Last refreshed

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.