Forest Loss

Last Updated on May 21, 2025

This indicator aims to monitor the total area of forest that is lost or removed globally each year. The indicator currently measures tree cover loss as a best available proxy for forest loss. Tree cover loss includes forest loss as well as loss of planted forests and tree crops, which are not typically considered forests. The statistics reported in this indicator capture “gross” tree cover loss, which is the total loss irrespective of any tree cover gain that may have occurred during that same year.

In this section, we'll explore the following questions:

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How much tree cover is lost globally each year?

The world has lost 517 million hectares (Mha) of tree cover since the turn of the century, equivalent to about 13 percent of global tree cover in 2000. Tree cover loss has been rising in recent history, from 13.4 Mha of tree cover loss in 2001 to 29.6 Mha in 2024.

Tree Cover Loss, Forest Loss, and Deforestation

The tree cover data used in this report are based on Hansen et al. (2013), who define tree cover as woody vegetation with a height of at least 5 meters (m) and a canopy density of at least 30 percent at 30 m resolution. Tree cover data therefore include planted forests and tree crops, which do not constitute a “forest” by most definitions. The tree cover data exclude areas of sparse tree cover, such as in the Sahel or the Cerrado, as well as individual trees in agricultural, suburban, or urban landscapes.

Tree cover loss is defined as the complete removal of tree cover for any reason, including human-caused loss and natural events. Loss of tree cover may be permanent or temporary; for example, temporary tree cover loss may occur when trees are harvested for wood production and the land is subsequently replanted or allowed to naturally regenerate. Deforestation, on the other hand, typically refers to human-caused, permanent removal of natural forest cover. This report uses tree cover loss data because it can be measured consistently at a global scale, but it also attempts to estimate forest loss and deforestation where data allow. More information about these estimates is available in the Data and Methods section.

Annual rates of global tree cover loss have risen since 2000

Permanent agriculture, wildfire, and logging are the leading causes of tree cover loss

Permanent agriculture is associated with 168 Mha of tree cover loss: Long-term, permanent tree cover loss for small- to large-scale agriculture. This includes perennial tree crops, as well as pasture and seasonal cropping systems.
Wildfire is associated with 151 Mha of tree cover loss: Tree cover loss due to fire with no visible human conversion or agricultural activity afterward. Some of these fires occur naturally, but others are set by humans. In humid tropical forests, fires are not natural to the ecosystem and are almost always set by humans.
Logging is associated with 131 Mha of tree cover loss: Forest management and logging activities occurring within managed, natural or semi-natural forests and plantations, often with evidence of forest regrowth or planting in subsequent years. This may include clear-cut and selective logging, establishment of logging roads, forest thinning, and salvage or sanitation logging.
Shifting cultivation is associated with 49 Mha of tree cover loss: Agricultural practices where forests are cleared, used for agricultural production for a few years, and then temporarily abandoned and followed by regrowth of secondary forest or vegetation.
Other natural disturbances are associated with 7 Mha of tree cover loss: Tree cover loss due to other non-fire natural disturbances, such as landslides, insect outbreaks, river meandering, or storms.
Hard commodities are associated with 5 Mha of tree cover loss: Tree cover loss due to the establishment or expansion of mining or energy infrastructure. Mining activities range from artisanal to large-scale mining, and energy infrastructure may include power lines, oil drilling, wind and solar farms, and flooding due to the construction of hydroelectric dams.
Settlements and infrastructure are associated with 5 Mha of tree cover loss: Tree cover loss due to expansion and intensification of roads, settlements, urban areas, or built infrastructure.

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How much tree cover loss is permanent versus temporary?

Roughly 37 percent of tree cover loss since 2000 was likely to be deforestation, characterized by permanent loss of forest resulting in new, nonforest land uses such as agriculture, mines, built infrastructure, and human settlements.

The remaining tree cover loss was likely more temporary in nature, often related to fire, logging, or natural disturbances. In these areas, forests may regrow, but the time required for forests to regenerate and redevelop important ecosystem functions is highly variable and can be long.

How much tree cover is lost in tropical versus temperate and boreal forests?

Though only half (254 Mha) of global tree cover loss this century occurred in the tropical ecozone, the tropics accounted for nearly 94 percent of all global deforestation (associated with agriculture, mining or enery infrastructure, and expansion of human settlements). The annual rate of tropical tree cover loss nearly doubled from 6.7 Mha in 2001 to 15.0 Mha in 2024. Although Brazil and Indonesia experienced the largest area of tree cover loss this century, these two countries have become less dominant as the rate of tree cover loss in all other tropical countries combined has increased by 189 percent since 2001.

Tree cover loss has steadily increased in the tropics

Meanwhile, temperate and boreal forests have experienced 206 Mha of gross tree cover loss since the turn of the century, with almost 98 percent related to temporary factors (logging and wildfire) where tree cover is likely to regrow. Canada, Russia, and the United States together make up 96 percent of tree cover loss related to wildfire and 64 percent of all loss related to logging in temperate and boreal forests. Tree cover loss related to wildfire and logging is not necessarily permanent, but it takes time for forests to regenerate. Unsustainable forestry practices, such as forestry cycles that are too short, can impact the condition of a forest and its ability to provide wildlife habitat and important ecosystem services (see the Forest Degradation Indicator).

Are Fires Intensifying?

Fire is a natural part of the landscape in many temperate and boreal forests, fostering species turnover and releasing important nutrients. Although the global burned area has decreased in the past decades, likely as a result of the conversion of grasslands to agriculture, forest fires are becoming more frequent and severe as climate change brings increasingly warm and dry weather to parts of the world. These forest fires can result in major impacts on the economy, human life, and forest ecosystems. In addition to climate change, humans have also exacerbated fires in these landscapes by suppressing natural burns, encroaching on wild areas, and igniting new fires.

Tropical forests have also been heavily affected by fires in recent years, with blazes in Brazil, Indonesia, Bolivia, and elsewhere drawing massive media attention. Fires in humid tropical forests such as the Amazon are not natural—these fires are almost always set by humans —though they often only burn out of control under conditions of drought. Since these ecosystems are not adapted to fire, the blazes may cause adverse impacts on those forests for years to come. These tropical forest fires also result in major climate-damaging emissions, resulting in a potential positive feedback loop between climate change and fires.

Forests have been converted to urban land around cities in the southeastern United States

Limitations and Future Prospects

Tree cover loss is not equivalent to forest loss because some forms of tree cover (e.g., tree crops such as oil palm) are not included in most widely accepted definitions of a forest. Ongoing efforts to develop better global-scale spatial data on the extent of natural forests, managed seminatural forests and planted forests, and tree crops would allow improved monitoring of forest loss. A 2024 study aggregated maps of planted forests and tree crops from a variety of sources and time periods into a single database. In the tropics, planted forests and tree crops account for only 3 percent of total tree cover. In temperate and boreal forests, planted forests and tree crops account for 6% of total tree cover, but this number is likely an underestimation due to data limitations.

Recently published data on the drivers of tree cover loss at 1-km resolution used in this analysis provide 10 times higher spatial resolution, classification of more types of drivers, and improved accuracy over previously available data. However, the data map the dominant driver of tree cover loss over the full time period, and therefore do not capture temporal dynamics related to the transition of various drivers over time. The authors of this new data plan to develop AI techniques to map annual drivers at even higher spatial resolution.

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Citation

“Forest Loss Indicator.” Global Forest Review, updated May 21, 2025. Washington, DC: World Resources Institute. Available online at https://research.wri.org/gfr/forest-extent-indicators/forest-loss.

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