In this article, we shall discuss 25 countries with the highest deforestation rates in the world. To skip our detailed analysis of the global forestry industry and efforts to mitigate the risks posed by global warming, go directly and see 10 Countries With The Highest Deforestation Rates in the World.

Governments across the world are swiftly realizing that forestry and other land use accounts for more than fifteen percent of annual global carbon emissions, and nearly ten percent of greenhouse gas emissions usually stemming from many of the countries with the highest deforestation rates in the world. The global forestry and logging industry is estimated to be valued at around $285.3 billion as of 2022 and is expected to reach $438.5 billion by 2026 at a CAGR of 6.3%. Forestry revenue is predicted to reach more than 3.1 million hectares by 2026, growing at an average of 0.7% annually.  According to McKinsey, each year sees more than ten million hectares of land fall victim to deforestation, primarily carried out to clear land for commercial or subsistence agriculture. Hence, it is becoming increasingly clearer that the impact of deforestation on the global environment is substantial. It causes emissions to skyrocket, reduces carbon-capture capabilities significantly, causes biodiversity to depreciate, and impacts millions who make their living around forests. The report outlines that although reforestation will be incredibly critical to realize net-zero objectives by 2050, there is a pressing need to halt, reduce and avoid deforestation which can prevent further emissions much more efficiently. Some of the major players in the forestry industry like West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG), Louisiana-Pacific Corporation (NYSE:LPX), and PotlatchDeltic Corporation (NASDAQ:PCH) are ramping up investments in countries with the highest deforestation rates in the world to capitalize on the opportunities which can be derived from forest protection, restoration projects, and diversification of operations in order to fulfill global net-zero commitments. To know more about how net-zero commitments are affecting the natural gas industry, check out our coverage of the 20 Most Valuable Gas Companies in the World. 

The Rise of Precision Forestry: An Overview

The digital revolution is beginning to encompass global industries, from manufacturing to healthcare, with even agriculture undergoing a massive transformation due to technologies like variable-rate fertilization and automated harvesting. According to a report by McKinsey, the forestry industry has not been proactive in adapting to the massive shift and have hardly adopted digital mechanisms in day-to-day operations. However, with deforestation peaking and pressure mounting on countries with the highest deforestation rates in the world to meet net-zero objectives, the global forestry industry is beginning to divert greater investments in the procurement and implementation of digital solutions. The advantages for such an action are numerous, ranging from significantly lowered delivered costs for wood and higher wood yields per given square hectare to increased capabilities to expand investments to new regions outside North America and Europe.

However, the report also points out that there are significant challenges facing the industry with respect to digitization. The forestry management sciences still operate on a set of assumptions and fundamentals developed more than three centuries ago, with many processes still being incredibly manual and analog, with broad-brush management prescriptions. Furthermore, there is little to no corporate involvement in forestry with seventy percent of forests around the world still being publicly owned. The remaining thirty percent are largely owned by small private owners who, on average, own less than three acres of land apiece. Secondly, government officials and public forest managers in countries with the highest deforestation rates in the world tend to exhibit significant conservativeness in their management style and struggle to balance a variety of targets relative to their private counterparts. Hence, commercial performance with respect to social and environmental goals lags substantially behind. Additionally, the majority of private forest operations are best characterized by a lack of scale. These operations also lack the expertise which is needed to implement the latest technologies. Furthermore, large-scale commercial forests tend to be located in remote and rugged terrains, thereby presenting a litany of challenges pertaining to the procurement and implementation of advanced technologies.

The recent surge in the use of precision forestry techniques by top players like West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG), Louisiana-Pacific Corporation (NYSE:LPX), and PotlatchDeltic Corporation (NASDAQ:PCH) heavily relies on the use of advanced technologies like drones, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), laser scanning (lidar) and soil sensors, usually procured through a growing market of expert vendors. However, precision forestry is much more than a mere adoption of digital technology; instead, it relies on a top-down shift in operational paradigms. Now, instead of using a manual and analog system with broad-brush management prescriptions predicted on ideas developed more than three hundred years ago, players within the forestry industry need to adapt to an improved system with digital data capture and planning, granular management prescriptions, and robust operational control. The adoption of precision forestry techniques is likely to award a more comprehensive control of operations with improved data accumulation, automation of operations, optimized and well-informed policy prescriptions predicated on the use of advanced analytics, and a more tailored set of prescriptions much better suited to individual site and requirements. To delve deeper into the use of precision forestry in modern forestry practices, check out our article on the 20 Most Forested States in the US. 

The Importance of Data in Forestry: An Analysis

As countries with the highest deforestation rates in the world race to minimize carbon emissions in a last-ditch effort to lower the global temperature and achieve net-zero, there is increasing pressure on forestry companies like West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG), Louisiana-Pacific Corporation (NYSE:LPX), and PotlatchDeltic Corporation (NASDAQ:PCH) to indulge in sustainable forestry practices. Sustainable forestry includes the set up and management of timberlands for effective production of wood, keeping in mind the conservation of the environment. According to an analysis by McKinsey, forestry operational productivity has skyrocketed in recent years owing to certain players within the sector implementing vast technological reform and advancement. However, the report criticizes conventional efforts as being exclusively centered around efficiency and effectiveness of machinery, with little to no regard of the carbon footprint left behind by careless forestry practices.

The report then goes on to outline that there is substantial capacity to enhance productivity and efficiency in contemporary forestry operations. The industry can adapt to the age of analytics, use big data and integrate operations across entire enterprises to manage forest resources much more efficiently. As of 2023, overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) stands at a meagre 35 percent, spelling out the sheer scale of opportunity for improvement through applying modern practices. The increased use of analytics is critical to enhance productivity as integrating combined advanced analytics for harvest and logistics planning can cause mean time between failures to escalate and reduce mean time needed for restoration and repair. Furthermore, according to a recent study, there is added potential for performance enhancements beyond overall equipment effectiveness, such as a calculated and seamless integration of productivity data into daily operations. The study suggested that companies which have already automated their operations can begin to systematically acquire structured data as proactively as possible.

Our Methodology

To compile our list of the 25 countries with the highest deforestation rates in the world, we used data by Global Forest Watch, which is an organization that provides data and tools for monitoring forests. It defines deforestation as the removal of forests for agriculture, logging, or other economic purposes. GFW uses advanced satellite imagery and remote sensing data to assess changes in forest cover over a selected time frame from 2000 to 2023. Then, it establishes baseline data on forest cover for the initial and final points of the selected time frame, to serve as a point of reference for determining the extent of deforestation. Subsequently, we arranged the entries in terms of the amount of hectares lost to deforestation per year, with kha standing for thousands of hectares whilst Mha stands for millions of hectares, from lowest to highest. We also conducted a literature review of secondary data to add additional context to each entry (1, 2, 3, 4).

Many of the countries which make our list of countries with the highest deforestation rates in the world also featured during our coverage of the 15 Countries Which Contribute the Most to Climate Change.

25 Countries with the Highest Deforestation Rates in the World

25. Iran

Deforestation Rate: 13.7 kha/year

In 2022, Iran’s deforestation rate was approximately 0.141%. Most of its deforestation is caused by the natural and normal use of forest uses. The increased rate of deforestation causes soil erosion, climate change, and flood risks. 

24. Sweden 

Deforestation Rate: 14.0 kha/year

Sweden faces a lot of deforestation, mainly towards north. This negatively impacts the livelihood of the citizens and the environment as it affects the biodiversity and the climate of the country, causing Sweden to make our list of countries with the highest deforestation rates in the world.

23. Algeria 

Deforestation Rate: 18.0 kha/year

In 2017, around 8% of Algeria’s land was occupied by forests and trees; however, recently, the trees have been subject to deforestation causing Algeria to lose around more than 240 kha of its tree cover in a decade

22. Saint Pierre and Miquelon

Deforestation Rate: 20.0 kha/year

From 2001 to 2022, Saint Pierre and Miquelon lost around 0.12% of forest land due to deforestation. Due to this, the country faces a lot of negative consequences, in terms of their environment. 

21. Finland 

Deforestation Rate: 22.0 kha/year

In 2022, Finland lost thousands of hectares of natural forest due to deforestation. One of the main problems caused by deforestation in Finland is the emission of greenhouse gases, which negatively impact the environment, causing Finland to make our list of countries with the highest deforestation rates in the world.

20. Portugal 

Deforestation Rate: 37.0 kha/year

Deforestation is one of the main problems in Portugal. This primarily occurs due to agriculture and forest fires. One of the main negative impacts of increasing deforestation in the country is its effect on global warming and climate change. 

19. Guatemala 

Deforestation Rate: 38.0 kha/year

Guatemala is home to the Maya Forest, which is the second largest tropical rainforest in the Americas. However, much of the forest’s trees are cut down mainly due to increasing demand of sugar and palm oil in the country. 

18. Philippines 

Deforestation Rate: 47.0 kha/year

Philippines faces multiple challenges due to the increasing rate of deforestation. Some of these challenges include extinction of animals, floods, soil erosion, and negative affect on the food produced in the country. 

17. Ecuador 

Deforestation Rate: 47.5 kha/year

Around 50% of Ecuador’s land is forests; however, the country is facing very high rates of deforestation currently due to oil exploration, logging, and the need for infrastructure, causing Ecuador to make our list of countries with the highest deforestation rates in the world.

16. Canada

Deforestation Rate: 48.0 kha/year

The increasing demand for resources, economic growth, and the need to build infrastructure increases the rates of deforestation in Canada to a great extent. In 2022, 2.30 mega hectares of the country’s forest land was lost due to deforestation.

15. China 

Deforestation Rate: 62.1 kha/year

Even though China is working towards ending deforestation, it is still one of the countries with the highest rates of deforestation in the world mainly because of urbanization and shifting agriculture. 

14. Lao People’s Democratic Republic 

Deforestation Rate: 75.2 kha/year

Lao People’s Democratic Republic faces great amounts of deforestation every year. This is caused by a multitude of reasons including unsustainable timber extraction, agricultural expansion, and mining. 

13. Mali 

Deforestation Rate: 146 kha/year

In 2022, Mali engaged in deforestation to an extent where it resulted in CO2  emissions of around 240 kt. This is mainly done for agricultural purposes, bushfires, and overexploitation of wood. 

12. Colombia 

Deforestation Rate: 148 kha/year

In Colombia, forests cover an estimate of 0.15 million hectares of land. However, a multitude of trees are cut down every year, mainly to develop their economy by extracting natural resources to export. 

11. Venezuela 

Deforestation Rate: 165 kha/year

From 2001 to 2021, Venezuela lost approximately 2.29 million hectares of its forest land. Much of the deforestation carried out  in Venezuela is primarily due to excessive mining and lack of government protections. Venezuela is number 11 on our list of countries with the highest deforestation rates in the world.

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Disclosure: None. 25 Countries With The Highest Deforestation Rates in the World is originally published on Insider Monkey.