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Malawi — Forest area
Forest Area (% of Land Area) for Malawi, 1990–2023.
Latest value · 2023
22.44%
Forest Area (% of Land Area) · % of land area · -39.6% since 1990
Forest area for Malawi was 22.44% in 2023, according to the latest World Bank data. The series covers 34 years, from 1990 to 2023. The highest recorded value was 37.14% in 1990. Across that span the compound annual growth rate works out to -1.52% per year.
Malawi ranks 127 of 214 economies on this measure (1 = highest), putting it in the top 59%. The median for Sub-Saharan Africa is 22.44%, so Malawi sits level with it. It peaked in 1990 and has fallen 40% since. Over the last decade (2013–2023) the figure moved down 17%.
Key figures
Latest (2023)
22.44%
First (1990)
37.14%
Change
-39.6%
Highest
37.14%
in 1990
Lowest
22.44%
in 2023
Average
29.79%
Annual growth (CAGR)
-1.52%
Years of data
34
Recent years
| Year | % of land area |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 22.44% |
| 2022 | 22.89% |
| 2021 | 23.33% |
| 2020 | 23.78% |
| 2019 | 24.22% |
| 2018 | 24.67% |
| 2017 | 25.11% |
| 2016 | 25.56% |
| 2015 | 26% |
| 2014 | 26.45% |
| 2013 | 26.9% |
| 2012 | 27.34% |
Reading this correctly. Land under naturally regenerated or planted stands of trees of at least five meters in situ, as a share of total land area. Figures are in % of land area. Comparing this series with a different measure of the same concept (for example a nominal figure against a purchasing-power-parity figure) will give misleading results.
Related data
Source. World Bank Open Data, indicator
AG.LND.FRST.ZS — Forest Area (% of Land Area). Data licensed under CC BY 4.0. Values are reproduced as published; this page computes the summary statistics (change, CAGR, extremes) from the underlying annual series. View the original dataset on data.worldbank.org.