Deforestation · 10 km around the city · 2001–2025
Deforestation around Bangui
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Bangui has lost about 1,550 hectares of forest (about 2,200 football pitches): 11% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (87%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
- Forest in 2000
- 14,600 hawithin 10 km of the centre
- Forest lost since 2001
- 1,550 ha11% of it, about 2,200 football pitches
- Cleared for good
- 1,350 hadeforestation, 87% of the loss
- Worst year
- 2014171 ha lost
Satellite timelapse
2017: satellite photo from January 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km west of the city centre.
Satellite photos of the same 5 × 5 km area, one per year, all taken in the same season so the colours compare. You can see forest being cleared and towns spreading, though not single trees. Download the before/after image (free to reuse with credit to Airleaf).
Year by year
Forest lost around Bangui, year by year
Forest loss is slowing down: about 65 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 89 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2014, when about 171 hectares of forest were lost.
Hectares of forest lost each year
Show the figures as a table
| Year | Cleared for good | Can grow back | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 35 ha | 5 ha | 39 ha |
| 2002 | 21 ha | under 1 ha | 22 ha |
| 2003 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2004 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2005 | 8 ha | 3 ha | 11 ha |
| 2006 | 17 ha | 2 ha | 18 ha |
| 2007 | 50 ha | 9 ha | 59 ha |
| 2008 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2009 | 42 ha | 9 ha | 51 ha |
| 2010 | 70 ha | 6 ha | 75 ha |
| 2011 | 52 ha | 3 ha | 55 ha |
| 2012 | 150 ha | 14 ha | 164 ha |
| 2013 | 65 ha | 12 ha | 77 ha |
| 2014 | 142 ha | 29 ha | 171 ha |
| 2015 | 23 ha | 2 ha | 25 ha |
| 2016 | 35 ha | 2 ha | 37 ha |
| 2017 | 84 ha | 7 ha | 91 ha |
| 2018 | 100 ha | 4 ha | 104 ha |
| 2019 | 130 ha | 10 ha | 140 ha |
| 2020 | 67 ha | 9 ha | 76 ha |
| 2021 | 47 ha | 4 ha | 51 ha |
| 2022 | 42 ha | 11 ha | 52 ha |
| 2023 | 33 ha | 19 ha | 52 ha |
| 2024 | 77 ha | 16 ha | 93 ha |
| 2025 | 56 ha | 22 ha | 78 ha |
Forest gained and lost, 2000–2020
- Forest in 2000
- 5,070 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 4,640 ha
- Overall change
- −428 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Bangui shrank from about 5,070 hectares to 4,640 hectares, a net loss of about 428 hectares (−8.4%). New forest grew on about 443 hectares, but 871 hectares were lost.
These 2000 and 2020 maps, from the University of Maryland, count any land with trees taller than 5 m as forest, including plantations and orchards. Forest that was cut or burned and had grown back by 2020 counts in both years, so the loss here is smaller than the yearly figures.
Causes
What is causing deforestation around Bangui?
- 87%cleared for good (deforestation)
- 13%can grow back (fire, logging, storms)
- Towns and roads44% · 680 ha
Cleared for good. Forest replaced by houses, buildings and roads.
- Farms, pasture and plantations43% · 672 ha
Cleared for good. Forest cleared for crops, cattle pasture or tree plantations: the biggest cause of deforestation in the world.
- Shifting farming13% · 196 ha
Can grow back. Small patches cleared to grow crops for a few seasons, then left to grow back.
Also, each under 1%: unknown causes.
Causes for 2025 are estimates, based on what caused forest loss in the same places up to 2024.
Use this data
Put Bangui's forest loss on your site
Free to embed, with a link back to the full figures.
Frequently asked
Questions about deforestation around Bangui
How much forest has Bangui lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Bangui has lost about 1,550 hectares of forest (about 2,200 football pitches): 11% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (87%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
Is deforestation around Bangui getting worse?
Forest loss is slowing down: about 65 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 89 hectares a year in 2016–2020. These are five-year averages from 2011 on, the years the satellite maps were all made the same way.
What is causing deforestation around Bangui?
The main causes of forest loss since 2001 are towns and roads (44%), farms, pasture and plantations (43%), shifting farming (13%). About 1,350 hectares was deforestation, meaning forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns. Causes for 2025 are estimates, based on what caused forest loss in the same places up to 2024.
What was the worst year for forest loss around Bangui?
The worst year was 2014, when about 171 hectares of forest were lost.
Is the forest around Bangui growing or shrinking?
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Bangui shrank from about 5,070 hectares to 4,640 hectares, a net loss of about 428 hectares (−8.4%). New forest grew on about 443 hectares, but 871 hectares were lost. These 2000 and 2020 maps, from the University of Maryland, count any land with trees taller than 5 m as forest, including plantations and orchards. Forest that was cut or burned and had grown back by 2020 counts in both years, so the loss here is smaller than the yearly figures.
Can I see satellite images of Bangui over the years?
Yes. The timelapse at the top of this page has a satellite photo for every year from 2017 to 2026 of a 5 × 5 km area near Bangui, where the most forest was lost. Press play to watch it change, or turn on "Show cleared forest" to see exactly where trees were lost.
How is forest loss measured?
We use satellite maps from the University of Maryland (Hansen and colleagues) that show, for every 30 × 30 m patch of land on Earth, the year its trees were cut down, burned or died, from 2001 to 2025. We add up those patches within 10 km of the centre of Bangui, counting only places that were at least 30% covered by trees in 2000. The cause of each loss comes from a map made by the World Resources Institute and Google DeepMind. All figures are estimates.