Country comparison
Democratic Republic of the Congo vs Pakistan
Averaged across every city Airleaf has measured in each country — 38 in Democratic Republic of the Congo and 127 in Pakistan — 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.
Pakistan averages more tree cover — 29.7% against 27.5%.
Democratic Republic of the Congo averages cleaner air — AQI 65 against 127.
- Tree cover gap
- 2.1 points
- Pakistan is ahead.
- Air quality gap
- 62 AQI
- Democratic Republic of the Congo is cleaner.
- Cities behind it
- 38 vs 127
- How much each average rests on.
38 cities measured
127 cities measured
Average tree cover
Mean across measured cities, each over the same 2 km radius.
27.5%
29.7%
Average air quality index
US EPA index. Lower is better.
65
127
Cities measured
How much each average rests on.
38
127
Trees standing
Summed across every measured city in each country.
3.1M
11.8M
Cities below their target
Share of measured cities short of the canopy target. Lower is better.
58% (22)
67% (85)
Trees still needed
Summed across measured cities, to reach their canopy targets. Fewer is better.
1.2M
4.4M
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.
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Pakistan
- Greenest measured city
- Dhirkot90.8% tree cover
- Worst air right now
- Pindi BhattianAQI 204
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 — 38 in Democratic Republic of the Congo and 127 in Pakistan — 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. Pakistan rests on 127 cities against 38, so its average is the steadier of the two. Both firm up as coverage grows.
Frequently asked
Democratic Republic of the Congo and Pakistan, answered
Which country has more tree cover, Democratic Republic of the Congo or Pakistan?
Pakistan, averaging 29.7% across its measured cities against 27.5% — a gap of 2.1 percentage points.
Which has cleaner air, Democratic Republic of the Congo or Pakistan?
Democratic Republic of the Congo, averaging AQI 65 against 127 on the US EPA index. These are live readings averaged across cities, so the gap moves with the weather.
How many cities is each figure based on?
38 measured cities in Democratic Republic of the Congo and 127 in Pakistan. 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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