Deforestation · 2001–2025
Deforestation in Ukraine
Since 2001, Ukraine has lost about 1.4 million hectares of forest (about 14,000 km²): 13% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 19,500 hectares (1.4%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
- Forest in 2000
- 10.7 million ha
- Forest lost since 2001
- 1.4 million ha13% of it, about 14,000 km²
- Cleared for good
- 19,500 hadeforestation, 1.4% of the loss
- Worst year
- 2016105,000 ha lost
Map
Where Ukraine has lost forest
Every square kilometre of Ukraine 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 Ukraine, year by year
Forest loss has stayed about the same: about 66,000 hectares a year in 2021–2025, against 77,100 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2016, when about 105,000 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 | 361 ha | 28,300 ha | 28,600 ha |
| 2002 | 433 ha | 26,300 ha | 26,700 ha |
| 2003 | 386 ha | 38,000 ha | 38,400 ha |
| 2004 | 570 ha | 48,400 ha | 49,000 ha |
| 2005 | 392 ha | 36,000 ha | 36,400 ha |
| 2006 | 563 ha | 41,200 ha | 41,700 ha |
| 2007 | 936 ha | 63,200 ha | 64,100 ha |
| 2008 | 1,200 ha | 51,100 ha | 52,300 ha |
| 2009 | 837 ha | 46,900 ha | 47,700 ha |
| 2010 | 658 ha | 51,600 ha | 52,200 ha |
| 2011 | 732 ha | 59,100 ha | 59,800 ha |
| 2012 | 798 ha | 54,600 ha | 55,400 ha |
| 2013 | 381 ha | 37,100 ha | 37,400 ha |
| 2014 | 442 ha | 46,500 ha | 47,000 ha |
| 2015 | 587 ha | 47,900 ha | 48,500 ha |
| 2016 | 1,630 ha | 104,000 ha | 105,000 ha |
| 2017 | 1,550 ha | 83,200 ha | 84,700 ha |
| 2018 | 1,290 ha | 71,800 ha | 73,100 ha |
| 2019 | 753 ha | 43,600 ha | 44,400 ha |
| 2020 | 996 ha | 76,900 ha | 77,900 ha |
| 2021 | 923 ha | 64,700 ha | 65,600 ha |
| 2022 | 651 ha | 46,600 ha | 47,300 ha |
| 2023 | 649 ha | 65,000 ha | 65,700 ha |
| 2024 | 742 ha | 79,000 ha | 79,700 ha |
| 2025 | 986 ha | 70,800 ha | 71,800 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 Ukraine?
- 1.4%cleared for good (deforestation)
- 97%can grow back (fire, logging, storms)
- 1.2%cause unknown
- Logging85% · 1.19 million ha
Can grow back. Trees cut for timber or paper. The land usually stays forest and grows back.
- Wildfires12% · 166,000 ha
Can grow back. Forest burned. It often grows back, though fire is sometimes used to clear land for good.
- Unknown causes1.2% · 17,100 ha
Cause unknown. The satellites saw the trees go, but not why.
Also, each under 1%: farms, pasture and plantations, towns and roads, storms, floods and other natural causes, mining and energy.
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.
Regions that lost the most
| Region | Forest lost | Share of its forest | Cleared for good |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zhytomyr Oblast | 263,000 ha | 23% | 1,840 ha |
| Rivne Oblast | 178,000 ha | 22% | 2,410 ha |
| Kyiv Oblast | 129,000 ha | 18% | 2,020 ha |
| Volyn | 113,000 ha | 16% | 407 ha |
| Chernihiv Oblast | 105,000 ha | 13% | 493 ha |
| Lviv | 88,000 ha | 12% | 715 ha |
| Ivano-Frankivsk | 69,600 ha | 10% | 674 ha |
| Zakarpattia | 59,100 ha | 7.6% | 289 ha |
| Kharkiv | 52,500 ha | 11% | 1,020 ha |
| Sumy | 50,300 ha | 9.7% | 223 ha |
| Luhansk | 44,900 ha | 19% | 827 ha |
| Chernivtsi | 42,100 ha | 15% | 181 ha |
Cities that lost the most forest around them
Forest lost within 10 km of each city centre since 2001.
| City | Forest lost | Share of its forest | Cleared for good |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brovary | 1,010 ha | 8.2% | 59 ha |
| Zhytomyr | 789 ha | 7.6% | 121 ha |
| Cherkasy | 652 ha | 17% | 111 ha |
| Poltava | 615 ha | 7.1% | 38 ha |
| Vinnytsya | 427 ha | 5.5% | 53 ha |
| Uzhhorod | 424 ha | 4.5% | 46 ha |
| Kremenchuk | 383 ha | 3.7% | 37 ha |
| Kamyanske | 329 ha | 6.6% | 87 ha |
| Lviv | 328 ha | 4.4% | 202 ha |
| Bila Tserkva | 292 ha | 4.6% | 21 ha |
Frequently asked
Questions about deforestation in Ukraine
How much forest has Ukraine lost since 2001?
Since 2001, Ukraine has lost about 1.4 million hectares of forest (about 14,000 km²): 13% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 19,500 hectares (1.4%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
Is deforestation in Ukraine getting worse?
Forest loss has stayed about the same: about 66,000 hectares a year in 2021–2025, against 77,100 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 Ukraine?
The main causes of forest loss since 2001 are logging (85%), wildfires (12%), farms, pasture and plantations (under 1%). About 19,500 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 Ukraine?
The worst year was 2016, when about 105,000 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 Ukraine, 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.