Global Deforestation Slows Down, but Forests Remain Under Pressure

Although deforestation has fallen to 10.9 million hectares per year between 2015 and 2025, compared to 17.6 million recorded between 1990 and 2000, the current rate remains excessively high, according to a new report. The assessment highlights positive developments such as the expansion of long-term management plans and protected areas.

Deforestation has slowed in all regions of the world over the past decade, according to the Global Forest Resources Assessment 2025 by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The latest data show that forests now cover 4.14 billion hectares, representing approximately one-third of the planet’s land surface. Nearly half of the world’s forests are located in tropical regions.

In addition to the slowdown in deforestation rates, the assessment notes other encouraging signs for the world’s forests. More than half of global forests are now covered by long-term management plans, and one-fifth of forests are within legally established protected areas. Although deforestation has been reduced to 10.9 million hectares per year between 2015 and 2025—down from 17.6 million recorded between 1990 and 2000—the FAO stresses that “the current rate remains too high.”

The UN agency underscores that forests are vital for food security, local livelihoods, and the supply of renewable biomaterials and energy. They serve as habitats for a significant share of global biodiversity, help regulate carbon and water cycles, and can reduce the risks and impacts of drought, desertification, soil erosion, landslides, and floods.

Other Key Findings

The report indicates that net forest loss has also decreased. The annual rate dropped from 10.7 million hectares in the 1990s to 4.12 million hectares in the past decade. However, forest expansion has also slowed, declining from 9.88 million hectares annually between 2000 and 2015 to 6.78 million between 2015 and 2025.

Naturally regenerating forests—which account for 92% of total forest area—have decreased by 324 million hectares between 1990 and 2025. The most significant declines in the past decade occurred in Africa and South America, while Europe reported an increase in this type of forest cover.

The FAO also warned that fires affect an average of 261 million hectares of land each year, nearly half of which are forests. In 2020, insects, diseases, and adverse weather conditions damaged approximately 41 million hectares of forest, mainly in temperate and boreal regions.

The 2025 edition of the report, published every five years, was released this Tuesday during the plenary session of the Global Forest Observation Initiative held in Bali, Indonesia.