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Airleaf

Country comparison · 202 cities measured

Russia vs Tanzania Air quality index (AQI) and deforestation

Russia has cleaner air than Tanzania right now: its cities average AQI 28 against 52.

Russia has lost more forest since 2001. Russia has more tree cover in its cities.

Russia

Average of 168 cities

AQI 28

Good

Cleaner on average

At ground stations
AQI 58
Tree cover
34.1%
Forest lost since 2001
91.7 million ha
Tanzania

Average of 34 cities

AQI 52

Moderate

Tree cover
20.7%
Forest lost since 2001
3.69 million ha

Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.

Head to head

Russia vs Tanzania at a glance

Russia is ahead on 4 of 5 measures, and Tanzania on 1. The better figure in each row is marked.

Russia and Tanzania compared on air quality, forest loss and tree cover
RussiaTanzania
Average air qualityUS AQI, all measured cities.28 (better)52
Cities over AQI 100Not fine for sensitive groups.1% (better)6%
Forest lost since 2001The whole country.91.7 million ha3.69 million ha (better)
Share of its forest lostOf what it had in 2000.12% (better)14%
Average tree coverAcross its measured cities.34.1% (better)20.7%

Air quality today

Is Russia cleaner than Tanzania?

On air quality, yes, right now. Russia has cleaner air than Tanzania right now: its cities average AQI 28 against 52.

1% of the measured cities in Russia are over AQI 100 today, the point where the air stops being fine for sensitive groups, against 6% in Tanzania.

How each country's cities split across the air quality bands

Russia

  • Good133 (79%)
  • Moderate33 (20%)
  • Unhealthy for sensitive groups2 (1%)

Tanzania

  • Good16 (47%)
  • Moderate16 (47%)
  • Unhealthy for sensitive groups2 (6%)

Every measured city, including model estimates where no ground station is near.

Against everywhere else

How do Russia and Tanzania compare with other countries?

Right now the cities of Russia average cleaner air than 91% of the 171 countries Airleaf has enough cities to average, and those of Tanzania than 51%.

Cleaner air than…

Russia
Beats 91%
Tanzania
Beats 51%

More tree cover than…

Russia
Beats 76%
Tanzania
Beats 41%

Deforestation · 2001–2025

Which country has lost more forest, Russia or Tanzania?

Russia has lost more: about 91.7 million ha of forest from 2001 to 2025, against 3.69 million ha in Tanzania, or 25 times as much. 1 million ha of Russia's was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns; the rest burned, was logged or can grow back.

The whole country, from the yearly satellite maps of forest loss: unlike the city averages above, this counts every forest, not just the land around cities.

Russia
20012025

Worst year: 2021, with 6.49 million ha lost.

Tanzania
20012025

Worst year: 2023, with 230,000 ha lost.

Forest loss in Russia and Tanzania, 2001 to 2025
RussiaTanzania
Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged.91.7 million ha3.69 million ha (better)
Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000.12% (better)14%
Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns.1 million ha (better)3.1 million ha
Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before.Holding steadyHolding steady
Main known causeWildfires (73%)Farms, pasture and plantations (83%)

Trees

Which country has more tree cover, Russia or Tanzania?

Russia does: its measured cities average 34.1% tree cover against 20.7%, a gap of 13.4 percentage points.

Russia34.1%
Tanzania20.7%
Tree figures for Russia and Tanzania
RussiaTanzania
Trees standingSummed across measured cities.17.3M (better)2.1M
Cities below their targetShort of the canopy target.37% (better)79%
Trees still neededTo reach those targets.1.2M1.2M (better)

Behind the averages

The cities behind Russia and Tanzania

An average says nothing about how far apart the best and worst places are. These are the measured cities at each end.

Russia

Greenest measured city
Solikamsk73.3% tree cover
Worst air right now
OdintsovoAQI 77

Tanzania

Greenest measured city
Tarime47.9% tree cover
Worst air right now
SongeaAQI 116

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: 168 in Russia and 34 in Tanzania, each read over the same 2 km radius, on the US EPA index. Rural land and unmeasured towns are not in it.

Coverage shapes the number

A country measured mostly in its capital reads differently from one measured across dozens of towns. Russia rests on 168 cities against 34, so its average is the steadier of the two. Forest figures come from the University of Maryland's Global Forest Change maps.

Frequently asked

Russia vs Tanzania: your questions answered

Is Russia cleaner than Tanzania?

On air quality, yes, right now: Russia's cities average AQI 28 against 52 on the US EPA index. These are live readings averaged across cities, so the gap moves with the weather.

Which country has lost more forest, Russia or Tanzania?

Russia has lost more: about 91.7 million ha of forest from 2001 to 2025, against 3.69 million ha in Tanzania, or 25 times as much. 1 million ha of Russia's was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns; the rest burned, was logged or can grow back.

Which country has more tree cover, Russia or Tanzania?

Russia does: its measured cities average 34.1% tree cover against 20.7%, a gap of 13.4 percentage points.

How many cities are the Russia and Tanzania figures based on?

168 measured cities in Russia and 34 in Tanzania. 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.

Does this cover the whole of Russia and Tanzania?

The air and tree figures are not: they are the cities Airleaf has measured, each over the same 2 km radius, so treat them as a comparison of urban air and urban tree cover. The forest figures are: they count every forest in the country.

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