Largest deforestation by annual increase rate

Although forest-poor countries such as Mauritania and Burkina Faso show the greatest percentage loss over the years 2001–2014 relative to their tree cover in the year 2000, in terms of the global impact of deforestation, it is the forest-rich countries of Brazil and Indonesia that have historically come under scrutiny for their very high rates of deforestation. According to data by the University of Maryland and Google published by Global Forest Watch, Indonesia’s tree cover loss (removal of natural forests or tree plantations) percentage in the years 2001–2014 was 11.5% relative to the tree cover in 2000. Worryingly, the loss rate increased by more than 30 percent between 2013 and 2014, while Brazil’s rose by “only" 16 percent during the same time period. The two countries showed a less marked three-year average trend of 0.46% and 1.01% respectively annually for the years 2012 to 2014. In absolute terms, in the years 2001-2014 Indonesia lost 18.5 million hectares of the 161 million hectares tree cover it registered in 2000.

Tthe tree cover loss does not include any adjustments from tree cover gain over the same period.