Statizoid

Forest area in Namibia

Namibia: Forest area was 7.8% in 2023. ▼ Falling

Latest (2023)
7.8%
Change on year
down 1.1%
World rank
173rd
of 214 countries
All-time high
10.7%
in 1990
All-time low
7.8%
in 2023
Years of data
34
1990–2023

Forest area in Namibia, 1990–2023

02.557.5101990200620231990: 10.7 % of land area1991: 10.6 % of land area1992: 10.5 % of land area1993: 10.4 % of land area1994: 10.3 % of land area1995: 10.2 % of land area1996: 10.1 % of land area1997: 10 % of land area1998: 10 % of land area1999: 9.9 % of land area2000: 9.8 % of land area2001: 9.7 % of land area2002: 9.6 % of land area2003: 9.5 % of land area2004: 9.4 % of land area2005: 9.4 % of land area2006: 9.3 % of land area2007: 9.2 % of land area2008: 9.1 % of land area2009: 9 % of land area2010: 8.9 % of land area2011: 8.8 % of land area2012: 8.8 % of land area2013: 8.7 % of land area2014: 8.6 % of land area2015: 8.5 % of land area2016: 8.4 % of land area2017: 8.3 % of land area2018: 8.2 % of land area2019: 8.2 % of land area2020: 8.1 % of land area2021: 8 % of land area2022: 7.9 % of land area2023: 7.8 % of land area

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

Analysis

Namibia recorded 7.8% for forest area in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 34 years on record.

That represents a change of down 1.1% on the previous year and down 10.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, forest area in Namibia peaked at 10.7% in 1990 and was at its lowest, 7.8%, in 2023.

That places Namibia 173rd out of 214 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.

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

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 10.3% 9.9% 10.7% 10
2000s 9.4% 9.0% 9.8% 10
2010s 8.5% 8.2% 8.9% 10
2020s 7.9% 7.8% 8.1% 4

Countries ranked near Namibia

  1. 170 Eritrea 8.6% compare
  2. 171 Uzbekistan 8.5% compare
  3. 172 Cote d'Ivoire 7.9% compare
  4. 174 Kyrgyzstan 7.1% compare
  5. 175 Iran 6.6% compare
  6. 176 Israel 6.5% compare

See the full ranking of 261 places →

More agriculture & rural data for Namibia

All data for Namibia →

Frequently asked questions

What is forest area in Namibia?
Forest area in Namibia was 7.8% in 2023, according to FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
What is the highest forest area recorded in Namibia?
The highest recorded value was 10.7% in 1990.
What is the lowest forest area recorded in Namibia?
The lowest recorded value was 7.8% in 2023.
How does Namibia rank for forest area?
Namibia ranks 173rd out of 214 countries with data for 2023.
Is forest area rising or falling in Namibia?
Over the last ten years it is down 10.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Namibia 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.