Forest area in Tanzania
Tanzania: Forest area was 443,380 sq. km in 2023. ▼ Falling
Forest area in Tanzania, 1990–2023
Source: FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Measured in sq. km.
Analysis
In 2023, forest area in Tanzania stood at 443,380 sq. km. That is the lowest value across all 34 years on record.
The figure is down 1.0% on the previous year and down 9.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, forest area in Tanzania peaked at 573,900 sq. km in 1990 and was at its lowest, 443,380 sq. km, in 2023.
That places Tanzania 16th out of 214 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 34 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 557,160 sq. km | 540,420 sq. km | 573,900 sq. km | 10 |
| 2000s | 519,960 sq. km | 503,220 sq. km | 536,700 sq. km | 10 |
| 2010s | 481,790 sq. km | 462,140 sq. km | 499,500 sq. km | 10 |
| 2020s | 450,415 sq. km | 443,380 sq. km | 457,450 sq. km | 4 |
Countries ranked near Tanzania
More agriculture & rural data for Tanzania
- Agricultural raw materials exports 2.5% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.1% (2024)
- Rural population 63.1% (2025)
- Rural population growth 1.7% (2025)
- Rural population 44.53 million (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 22.9% (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 20.65 billion current US$ (2025)
- Land under cereal production 6.52 million hectares (2023)
- Cereal yield 1,961 kg per hectare (2023)
- Cereal production 12.79 million metric tons (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is forest area in Tanzania?
- Forest area in Tanzania was 443,380 sq. km in 2023, according to FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
- What is the highest forest area recorded in Tanzania?
- The highest recorded value was 573,900 sq. km in 1990.
- What is the lowest forest area recorded in Tanzania?
- The lowest recorded value was 443,380 sq. km in 2023.
- How does Tanzania rank for forest area?
- Tanzania ranks 16th out of 214 countries with data for 2023.
- Is forest area rising or falling in Tanzania?
- Over the last ten years it is down 9.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Tanzania 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.