Forest area in Zambia
Zambia: Forest area was 442,494 sq. km in 2023. ▼ Falling
Forest area in Zambia, 1990–2023
Source: FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Measured in sq. km.
Analysis
In 2023, forest area in Zambia stood at 442,494 sq. km. That is the lowest value across all 34 years on record.
The figure is down 0.4% on the previous year and down 4.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, forest area in Zambia peaked at 474,120 sq. km in 1990 and was at its lowest, 442,494 sq. km, in 2023.
Zambia ranks 17th of 214 countries on this measure, 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 | 472,509 sq. km | 470,898 sq. km | 474,120 sq. km | 10 |
| 2000s | 468,929 sq. km | 467,318 sq. km | 470,540 sq. km | 10 |
| 2010s | 458,492 sq. km | 450,022 sq. km | 466,960 sq. km | 10 |
| 2020s | 445,317 sq. km | 442,494 sq. km | 448,140 sq. km | 4 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
More agriculture & rural data for Zambia
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.4% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.7% (2024)
- Rural population 54.1% (2025)
- Rural population growth 1.9% (2025)
- Rural population 11.85 million (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 4.1% (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 1.19 billion current US$ (2025)
- Land under cereal production 1.56 million hectares (2023)
- Cereal yield 2,344 kg per hectare (2023)
- Cereal production 3.66 million metric tons (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is forest area in Zambia?
- Forest area in Zambia was 442,494 sq. km in 2023, according to FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
- What is the highest forest area recorded in Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 474,120 sq. km in 1990.
- What is the lowest forest area recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 442,494 sq. km in 2023.
- How does Zambia rank for forest area?
- Zambia ranks 17th out of 214 countries with data for 2023.
- Is forest area rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 4.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Zambia 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.