Forest area in Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso: Forest area was 60,664 sq. km in 2023. ▼ Falling
Forest area in Burkina Faso, 1990–2023
Source: FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Measured in sq. km.
Analysis
In 2023, forest area in Burkina Faso stood at 60,664 sq. km. That is the lowest value across all 34 years on record.
The figure is down 0.8% on the previous year and down 7.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, forest area in Burkina Faso peaked at 77,166 sq. km in 1990 and was at its lowest, 60,664 sq. km, in 2023.
Burkina Faso ranks 69th 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 | 74,916 sq. km | 72,665 sq. km | 77,166 sq. km | 10 |
| 2000s | 69,915 sq. km | 67,665 sq. km | 72,165 sq. km | 10 |
| 2010s | 64,914 sq. km | 62,664 sq. km | 67,165 sq. km | 10 |
| 2020s | 61,414 sq. km | 60,664 sq. km | 62,164 sq. km | 4 |
Countries ranked near Burkina Faso
More agriculture & rural data for Burkina Faso
- Agricultural raw materials exports 6.0% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.4% (2024)
- Rural population 71.1% (2025)
- Rural population growth 1.4% (2025)
- Rural population 17.11 million (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 19.9% (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 5.51 billion current US$ (2025)
- Land under cereal production 4.35 million hectares (2024)
- Cereal yield 1,198 kg per hectare (2024)
- Cereal production 5.21 million metric tons (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is forest area in Burkina Faso?
- Forest area in Burkina Faso was 60,664 sq. km in 2023, according to FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
- What is the highest forest area recorded in Burkina Faso?
- The highest recorded value was 77,166 sq. km in 1990.
- What is the lowest forest area recorded in Burkina Faso?
- The lowest recorded value was 60,664 sq. km in 2023.
- How does Burkina Faso rank for forest area?
- Burkina Faso ranks 69th out of 214 countries with data for 2023.
- Is forest area rising or falling in Burkina Faso?
- Over the last ten years it is down 7.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Burkina Faso 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.