Forest area in Benin
Benin: Forest area was 29,852 sq. km in 2023. ▼ Falling
Forest area in Benin, 1990–2023
Source: FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Measured in sq. km.
Analysis
Benin recorded 29,852 sq. km for forest area in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 34 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.6% on the previous year and down 14.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, forest area in Benin peaked at 48,352 sq. km in 1990 and was at its lowest, 29,852 sq. km, in 2023.
Benin ranks 91st 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
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 45,202 sq. km | 42,052 sq. km | 48,352 sq. km | 10 |
| 2000s | 39,102 sq. km | 36,852 sq. km | 41,352 sq. km | 10 |
| 2010s | 34,102 sq. km | 31,852 sq. km | 36,352 sq. km | 10 |
| 2020s | 30,602 sq. km | 29,852 sq. km | 31,352 sq. km | 4 |
Countries ranked near Benin
More agriculture & rural data for Benin
- Agricultural raw materials exports 52.9% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.8% (2024)
- Rural population 46.6% (2025)
- Rural population growth 0.7% (2025)
- Rural population 6.91 million (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 22.9% (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 5.63 billion current US$ (2025)
- Land under cereal production 2.14 million hectares (2024)
- Cereal yield 1,356 kg per hectare (2024)
- Cereal production 2.91 million metric tons (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is forest area in Benin?
- Forest area in Benin was 29,852 sq. km in 2023, according to FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
- What is the highest forest area recorded in Benin?
- The highest recorded value was 48,352 sq. km in 1990.
- What is the lowest forest area recorded in Benin?
- The lowest recorded value was 29,852 sq. km in 2023.
- How does Benin rank for forest area?
- Benin ranks 91st out of 214 countries with data for 2023.
- Is forest area rising or falling in Benin?
- Over the last ten years it is down 14.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Benin data come from?
- The figures come from FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), published as part of Forest area (sq. km). 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
Forest area is land 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.