Forest area in Botswana
Botswana: Forest area was 148,998 sq. km in 2023. ▼ Falling
Forest area in Botswana, 1990–2023
Source: FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Measured in sq. km.
Analysis
The most recent figure for forest area in Botswana is 148,998 sq. km, measured in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 34 years on record.
That represents a change of down 0.8% on the previous year and down 7.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, forest area in Botswana peaked at 188,037 sq. km in 1990 and was at its lowest, 148,998 sq. km, in 2023.
Botswana ranks 44th of 214 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 34 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 182,714 sq. km | 177,390 sq. km | 188,037 sq. km | 10 |
| 2000s | 170,884 sq. km | 165,560 sq. km | 176,207 sq. km | 10 |
| 2010s | 159,054 sq. km | 153,730 sq. km | 164,377 sq. km | 10 |
| 2020s | 150,772 sq. km | 148,998 sq. km | 152,547 sq. km | 4 |
Countries ranked near Botswana
More agriculture & rural data for Botswana
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.0% (2023)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.8% (2023)
- Rural population 32.0% (2025)
- Rural population growth 0.1% (2025)
- Rural population 821,007 (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 1.8% (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 354.96 million current US$ (2025)
- Land under cereal production 60,588 hectares (2024)
- Cereal yield 900.4 kg per hectare (2024)
- Cereal production 54,554 metric tons (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is forest area in Botswana?
- Forest area in Botswana was 148,998 sq. km in 2023, according to FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
- What is the highest forest area recorded in Botswana?
- The highest recorded value was 188,037 sq. km in 1990.
- What is the lowest forest area recorded in Botswana?
- The lowest recorded value was 148,998 sq. km in 2023.
- How does Botswana rank for forest area?
- Botswana ranks 44th out of 214 countries with data for 2023.
- Is forest area rising or falling in Botswana?
- Over the last ten years it is down 7.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Botswana 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.