Sudan: Forest area (sq. km)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2025, Sudan's forest area (sq. km) fell 0.8% on 2024 (from 221,545 to 219,804).

Across the 12 yearly changes before that (2013 to 2024), the average change was −0.7% and a typical year strayed about 0% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.9 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

On record, the biggest yearly fall was 0.8% in 2025. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2016 to 2025 the straight-line trend is downward, about 1,741 a year. A straight line explains 100% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

In 2025, Sudan had the 30th highest value of the 209 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Sudan in the 2025 ranking

• South Africa — 27th of 209: 228,814
• Türkiye — 28th of 209: 228,058
• Finland — 29th of 209: 225,430
• Congo, Rep. — 31st of 209: 218,538
• Thailand — 32nd of 209: 196,475
• Cameroon — 33rd of 209: 191,432

What this measures

Forest area is land under natural or planted stands of trees of at least 5 meters in situ, whether productive or not, and excludes tree stands in agricultural production systems (for example, in fruit plantations and agroforestry systems) and trees in urban parks and gardens.

Limitations: The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) has been collecting and analyzing data on forest area since 1946. This is done at intervals of 5-10 years as part of the Global Forest Resources Assessment (FRA). FAO reports data for 229 countries and territories; for the remaining 56 small island states and territories where no information is provided, a report is prepared by FAO using existing information and a literature search. The data are aggregated at sub-regional, regional and global levels by the FRA team at FAO, and estimates are produced by straight summation.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a sum.

All 14 values

Forest area (sq. km) in nearby economies

• Angola — 632,623 (2025)
• Benin — 31,333 (2025)
• Botswana — 157,302 (2025)
• Burkina Faso — 32,370 (2025)
• Burundi — 2,796 (2025)
• Cabo Verde — 510.6 (2025)
• Cameroon — 191,432 (2025)
• Central African Republic — 450,949 (2025)
• Chad — 36,113 (2025)
• Comoros — 333.7 (2025)
• Congo, Dem. Rep. — 1.39 million (2025)
• Congo, Rep. — 218,538 (2025)

More environment data for Sudan

• Population in largest city — 6.75 million (2025)
• Population in the largest city (% of urban population) — 37.42% (2025)
• Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million — 6.75 million (2025)
• Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million (% of total population) — 13.07% (2025)
• Rural population — 33.61 million (2025)
• Rural population (% of total population) — 65.07% (2025)
• Urban population — 18.05 million (2025)
• Urban population (% of total population) — 34.93% (2025)
• Rural population growth (annual %) — 2.27% (2025)
• Urban population growth (annual %)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Sudan's forest area (sq. km)?

219,804 in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2012?

It is down 9.34% from 242,442 in 2012 (0.75% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 242,442 in 2012 and the lowest 219,804 in 2025.

How does Sudan rank?

30th highest of 209 economies with data for 2025.

Is the latest change in forest area (sq. km) unusual for Sudan?

In 2025, Sudan's forest area (sq. km) fell 0.8% on 2024 (from 221,545 to 219,804). Across the 12 yearly changes before that (2013 to 2024), the average change was −0.7% and a typical year strayed about 0% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.9 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator AG.LND.FRST.K2, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), uri: https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/RL, publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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