Deforestation · 2001–2025
Deforestation in Guinea-Bissau
Since 2001, Guinea-Bissau has lost about 212,000 hectares of forest (about 2,100 km²): 21% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (61%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
- Forest in 2000
- 992,000 ha
- Forest lost since 2001
- 212,000 ha21% of it, about 2,100 km²
- Cleared for good
- 130,000 hadeforestation, 61% of the loss
- Worst year
- 201319,600 ha lost
Map
Where Guinea-Bissau has lost forest
Every square kilometre of Guinea-Bissau as satellites saw it from 2000 to 2025. Yellow and green were forest; red to white marks where it has been lost since 2001, and when.
- Forest cover in 2000
- 0%25%50%75%100%How much of the land was forest: dark purple had little or none, yellow was dense forest.
- Year the forest was lost
- 200120132025Where forest was cut down, burned or cleared since 2001: red for the early years, through orange, to white for the most recent. Solid where a fifth or more of a place's forest went, fainter where 8% or more did.
- Cities
- The capital (the larger dot) and the biggest cities, to help you find your way.
Year by year
Forest lost in Guinea-Bissau, year by year
Forest loss is slowing down: about 9,750 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 14,800 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2013, when about 19,600 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 | 1,850 ha | 437 ha | 2,280 ha |
| 2002 | 3,800 ha | 1,820 ha | 5,610 ha |
| 2003 | 488 ha | 424 ha | 912 ha |
| 2004 | 2,280 ha | 1,010 ha | 3,290 ha |
| 2005 | 2,340 ha | 1,330 ha | 3,680 ha |
| 2006 | 1,310 ha | 565 ha | 1,880 ha |
| 2007 | 4,410 ha | 1,360 ha | 5,760 ha |
| 2008 | 1,900 ha | 1,130 ha | 3,030 ha |
| 2009 | 5,450 ha | 2,090 ha | 7,540 ha |
| 2010 | 3,320 ha | 1,360 ha | 4,680 ha |
| 2011 | 2,830 ha | 1,310 ha | 4,150 ha |
| 2012 | 2,260 ha | 1,090 ha | 3,340 ha |
| 2013 | 13,000 ha | 6,670 ha | 19,600 ha |
| 2014 | 7,150 ha | 4,690 ha | 11,800 ha |
| 2015 | 7,180 ha | 4,510 ha | 11,700 ha |
| 2016 | 8,510 ha | 6,230 ha | 14,700 ha |
| 2017 | 9,190 ha | 5,970 ha | 15,200 ha |
| 2018 | 8,210 ha | 5,140 ha | 13,300 ha |
| 2019 | 8,730 ha | 6,120 ha | 14,800 ha |
| 2020 | 9,050 ha | 6,940 ha | 16,000 ha |
| 2021 | 6,850 ha | 6,110 ha | 13,000 ha |
| 2022 | 5,240 ha | 3,780 ha | 9,010 ha |
| 2023 | 5,790 ha | 4,820 ha | 10,600 ha |
| 2024 | 4,550 ha | 4,060 ha | 8,610 ha |
| 2025 | 4,110 ha | 3,440 ha | 7,540 ha |
The satellite method improved in 2011, so compare recent years with each other rather than with the 2000s. Hover over or tap a year for its figures.
Causes
What is causing deforestation in Guinea-Bissau?
- 61%cleared for good (deforestation)
- 39%can grow back (fire, logging, storms)
- Farms, pasture and plantations60% · 128,000 ha
Cleared for good. Forest cleared for crops, cattle pasture or tree plantations: the biggest cause of deforestation in the world.
- Shifting farming38% · 80,200 ha
Can grow back. Small patches cleared to grow crops for a few seasons, then left to grow back.
Also, each under 1%: storms, floods and other natural causes, towns and roads, mining and energy, logging, wildfires, unknown causes.
Causes for 2025 are estimates, based on what caused forest loss in the same places up to 2024.
Is all forest loss deforestation?
No. When forest is cleared for farms, mines or towns, it is gone for good: that is deforestation. When it is logged or burned, it usually grows back. We count both as forest lost, but only the first as deforestation, so a country with a bad fire year isn't shown as clearing its forest for good.
Cities that lost the most forest around them
Forest lost within 10 km of each city centre since 2001.
Satellite timelapses of cities in Guinea-Bissau
A satellite photo a year since 2017, with the forest lost marked on it, and the figures for each city.
Frequently asked
Questions about deforestation in Guinea-Bissau
How much forest has Guinea-Bissau lost since 2001?
Since 2001, Guinea-Bissau has lost about 212,000 hectares of forest (about 2,100 km²): 21% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (61%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
Is deforestation in Guinea-Bissau getting worse?
Forest loss is slowing down: about 9,750 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 14,800 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 in Guinea-Bissau?
The main causes of forest loss since 2001 are farms, pasture and plantations (60%), shifting farming (38%), storms, floods and other natural causes (under 1%). About 130,000 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 in Guinea-Bissau?
The worst year was 2013, when about 19,600 hectares of forest 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 in Guinea-Bissau, 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.