APIDocsPricingGet a free API key
Indicator

Forest Area by African country

2024

Forest area as a share of total land area.

Africa, 202454 of 54 countries
23.4%population-weighted average
Highest in 2024Gabon · 91.4%Lowest in 2024Egypt · 0.0%Reported in 202454 of 54 countries surveyed
Click a country to pin it — pinned countries are named on the map. Hatching means no record.
Western Sahara — no separate recordTanzania — 49.6%Democratic Republic of the Congo — 61.5%Somalia — 7.8%Kenya — 6.6%Sudan — 11.9%Chad — 3.0%South Africa — 18.8%Lesotho — 1.1%Zimbabwe — 35.7%Botswana — 27.8%Namibia — 9.8%Senegal — 45.0%Mali — 8.7%Mauritania — 1.0%Benin — 28.1%Niger — 0.8%Nigeria — 18.9%Cameroon — 40.7%Togo — 22.5%Ghana — 30.9%Cote d'Ivoire — 12.1%Guinea — 20.0%Guinea-Bissau — 74.8%Liberia — 66.1%Sierra Leone — 34.0%Burkina Faso — 12.3%Central African Republic — 72.5%Republic of the Congo — 64.0%Gabon — 91.4%Equatorial Guinea — 86.1%Zambia — 60.5%Malawi — 22.0%Mozambique — 41.3%Eswatini — 25.3%Angola — 51.2%Burundi — 10.9%Madagascar — 17.3%Gambia — 21.3%Tunisia — 4.4%Algeria — 0.7%Eritrea — 12.0%Morocco — 12.8%Egypt — 0.0%Libya — 0.1%Ethiopia — 23.8%Djibouti — 0.3%Uganda — 11.9%Rwanda — 26.1%South Sudan — 11.3%Nigeria 18.9%Nigeria 18.9%Ethiopia 23.8%Ethiopia 23.8%Kenya 6.6%Kenya 6.6%South Africa 18.8%South Africa 18.8%2024HIGHEST IN 2024Gabon91.4%Equatorial Guinea86.1%Guinea-Bissau74.8%Central African Republic72.5%Liberia66.1%LOWEST IN 2024Egypt0.0%Libya0.1%Djibouti0.3%Algeria0.7%Niger0.8%PINNEDEthiopia23.8%23 of 54Kenya6.6%45 of 54Nigeria18.9%29 of 54South Africa18.8%30 of 54OTHER ISLAND STATES · NOT DRAWNCabo Verdenot drawn12.5%Comorosnot drawn17.8%Mauritiusnot drawn19.1%Sao Tome and Principenot drawn57.6%Seychellesnot drawn58.5%% of land area · quintiles of the observed range0%7.8%12.8%23.8%49.6%91.4%no record
20142024
World Bank · national statistics offices · the provider's own estimates where a country has not reportedCC BY 4.0
Countries

By region

Population-weighted, so a region’s figure is the share of its people, not the average of its countries.
Middle Africa9 of 9 countries52.2%
Eastern Africa18 of 18 countries25.6%
Western Africa16 of 16 countries19.8%
Southern Africa5 of 5 countries18.3%
Northern Africa6 of 6 countries4.3%
Africaall 54 countries · 54 with a 2024 figure23.4%

What to know before you quote this

Specific to this series. For how we treat data generally, see methods.
Certainty is judged year by yearA country can be Reported in one year and Modelled the next. The tag follows the year on the scrubber, so the 2024 assessment is not a verdict on the whole series.

About this data

Forest AreaForest area as a share of total land area.
SourceWorld Bank, with processing by Africa API
Unit% of land area
Last updated15 Oct 2026
Next expected updateOct 2027
Date range1990–2024
Coverage54 of 54 countries · 54 reported, 0 modelled, 0 with no usable figure

How the figure is made

ReportedA national statistics office or the original provider published the figure for that year directly. 54 countries did so for 2024 — the certainty shown on this page is that 2024 assessment, not a per-series one.ModelledNo direct figure that year. The provider’s own estimate, interpolation or projection stands in, and is marked as such wherever it appears.No dataNo usable figure within the window. Drawn hatched on the map and left blank in the table — not zero, and not filled in.

These three states are used the same way across every indicator on the site — how we treat certainty explains the full set and what we never do to a number.

Reuse and cite

Everything on this page is open under CC BY 4.0 — use it anywhere, including commercially, as long as Africa API and the original provider are credited. The provider’s own licence still applies to their data.

How to cite this page
Africa API (2026) — "Forest Area". Data adapted from World Bank. Retrieved 18 Oct 2026 from africa-api.com/indicators/forest-area
The request behind this view
GET /v1/data?metric_key=forest_area_pct_land&year=2024&limit=100

Read next

The measures that explain this one.
ClimateCO2 Emissions per CapitaGreenhouse gas emissions per person, in tonnes of CO2 equivalent.ClimateRenewable Electricity OutputElectricity generated from renewable sources as a share of total output.ClimateProtected AreasTerrestrial and marine protected areas as a share of total territorial area.

Forest Area: most recent figure per country, highest to lowest

54 countries · each with its own period

The figures at the top of the page compare every country in the same year. This list takes each country’s newest figure instead, whatever its period, so the order can differ.

#CountryForest AreaPeriod
1Gabon91.4%2024
2Equatorial Guinea86.1%2024
3Guinea-Bissau74.8%2024
4Central African Republic72.5%2024
5Liberia66.1%2024
6Republic of the Congo64%2024
7Democratic Republic of the Congo61.5%2024
8Zambia60.5%2024
9Seychelles58.5%2024
10Sao Tome and Principe57.6%2024
11Angola51.2%2024
12Tanzania49.6%2024
13Senegal45%2024
14Mozambique41.3%2024
15Cameroon40.7%2024
16Zimbabwe35.7%2024
17Sierra Leone34%2024
18Ghana30.9%2024
19Benin28.1%2024
20Botswana27.8%2024
21Rwanda26.1%2024
22Eswatini25.3%2024
23Ethiopia23.8%2024
24Togo22.5%2024
25Malawi22%2024
26Gambia21.3%2024
27Guinea20%2024
28Mauritius19.1%2024
29Nigeria18.9%2024
30South Africa18.8%2024
31Comoros17.8%2024
32Madagascar17.3%2024
33Morocco12.8%2024
34Cabo Verde12.5%2024
35Burkina Faso12.3%2024
36Cote d'Ivoire12.1%2024
37Eritrea12%2024
38Uganda11.9%2024
39Sudan11.9%2024
40South Sudan11.3%2024
41Burundi10.9%2024
42Namibia9.8%2024
43Mali8.7%2024
44Somalia7.8%2024
45Kenya6.6%2024
46Tunisia4.4%2024
47Chad3%2024
48Lesotho1.1%2024
49Mauritania1%2024
50Niger0.8%2024
51Algeria0.7%2024
52Djibouti0.3%2024
53Libya0.1%2024
54Egypt0%2024
Which observations are included?
The ranking includes 54 of 54 countries with available observations for 2023 or later and within 2 years of the freshest result. Each figure shows its reporting period. Countries without an eligible observation are omitted.
Does a higher value mean a better result?
The ranking is sorted by value, from highest to lowest. The order does not rate a country's performance. Interpretation depends on the indicator and its definition.

Embed this ranking

free · updates with the data

Drop this ranking into an article or a site and it stays current as the data updates. Paste the snippet anywhere HTML is allowed; a citation link is included.

<iframe src="https://africa-api.com/embed/forest-area" width="100%" height="560" loading="lazy" style="border:0;max-width:640px" title="Forest Area by African country, Africa API"></iframe>
<p style="font:13px/1.5 system-ui,sans-serif;margin:.5rem 0"><a href="https://africa-api.com/indicators/forest-area">Forest Area by African country, Africa API</a></p>

Every indicator, by topic

207 indicators, each ranked across the African countries that carry it.

Climate

Economy

Trade

Development

Demographics

Health

Child Welfare

Education

Food Security

Agriculture

Governance

Humanitarian

Technology

Infrastructure

Energy