Country comparison
Brazil vs Democratic Republic of the Congo
Averaged across every city Airleaf has measured in each country — 304 in Brazil and 38 in Democratic Republic of the Congo — each read the same way: Sentinel-2 imagery at 10 m detail over a 2 km radius, and the live US EPA air quality index.
Brazil averages more tree cover — 30.3% against 27.5%.
Both average the same air quality index.
- Tree cover gap
- 2.8 points
- Brazil is ahead.
- Air quality gap
- 0 AQI
- Both average the same.
- Cities behind it
- 304 vs 38
- How much each average rests on.
304 cities measured
38 cities measured
Average tree cover
Mean across measured cities, each over the same 2 km radius.
30.3%
27.5%
Average air quality index
US EPA index. Lower is better.
65
65
Cities measured
How much each average rests on.
304
38
Trees standing
Summed across every measured city in each country.
27.5M
3.1M
Cities below their target
Share of measured cities short of the canopy target. Lower is better.
61% (185)
58% (22)
Trees still needed
Summed across measured cities, to reach their canopy targets. Fewer is better.
7.1M
1.2M
Behind the averages
The extremes in each country
An average says nothing about how far apart the best and worst places are. These are the measured cities at each end.
Brazil
- Greenest measured city
- São José86.6% tree cover
- Worst air right now
- Santa Bárbara d'OesteAQI 173
Reading these numbers
What a country average is, and is not
It is a mean of cities
Not a national statistic. Each figure is the average across the cities Airleaf has measured in that country — 304 in Brazil and 38 in Democratic Republic of the Congo — each read over the same 2 km radius. Rural land, forest and everywhere unmeasured are not in it, so this compares urban areas rather than territories.
Coverage shapes the number
A country measured mostly in its capital reads differently from one measured across dozens of towns. Brazil rests on 304 cities against 38, so its average is the steadier of the two. Both firm up as coverage grows.
Frequently asked
Brazil and Democratic Republic of the Congo, answered
Which country has more tree cover, Brazil or Democratic Republic of the Congo?
Brazil, averaging 30.3% across its measured cities against 27.5% — a gap of 2.8 percentage points.
Which has cleaner air, Brazil or Democratic Republic of the Congo?
Both average AQI 65 at the moment.
How many cities is each figure based on?
304 measured cities in Brazil and 38 in Democratic Republic of the Congo. Every one was read the same way, so the two averages are directly comparable — but a country with more measured cities has the more settled figure.
Is this the whole country?
No. It is the cities Airleaf has measured, each over a 2 km radius from its centre. Forest, farmland and unmeasured towns are not included, so treat this as a comparison of urban tree cover and urban air rather than of national land cover.
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