Deforestation statistics for Ghana
Total land area: Ghana
| Total land area | ha |
| Land area | 23,878,697 |
| Tree cover in 2018 | 6,311,781 |
Forest and tree cover extent: Ghana
Extent of primary forest cover and tree cover for Ghana. All area figures are in hectares (ha)| Year | Primary forest | Tree cover (30%) |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 6,972,040 | |
| 2001 | 1,090,291 | |
| 2010 | 1,064,464 | 7,050,775 |
| 2018 | 1,009,275 | 6,311,781 |
| Primary/Total tree cover 2018 | 16% | |
| Tree cover/Total land area 2018 | 26.4% |
Primary forest loss and tree cover loss: Ghana
Annual loss of primary forest cover and tree cover for Ghana by year. All area figures are in hectares (ha)| Year | Primary forest | Tree cover (30%) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 43,742 | ||
| 2002 | 4,438 | 78,576 | |
| 2003 | 1,875 | 25,024 | |
| 2004 | 1,583 | 17,659 | |
| 2005 | 3,406 | 17,659 | |
| 2006 | 3,654 | 27,206 | |
| 2007 | 3,016 | 40,265 | |
| 2008 | 2,670 | 37,934 | |
| 2009 | 3,538 | 38,342 | |
| 2010 | 1,648 | 19,548 | |
| 2011 | 2,772 | 36,333 | |
| 2012 | 2,501 | 36,708 | |
| 2013 | 5,112 | 81,417 | |
| 2014 | 7,456 | 120,579 | |
| 2015 | 3,621 | 57,530 | |
| 2016 | 13,749 | 119,534 | |
| 2017 | 7,689 | 115,578 | |
| 2018 | 12,289 | 151,767 | |
| Primary loss 2002-2018 | 81,015 | ||
| Tree cover loss 2001-2018 | 1,021,659 | ||
| Primary loss/ Total tree cover loss | 7.9% | ||
| Percent loss 2001-2018 | 7.4% | ||
| Loss/year (2001/2-2010) | 2,869.61 | 34,596 | |
| Loss/year (2011-2018) | 6,898.62 | 89,931 |
Biodiversity data: Ghana
Species count by taxa for Ghana. For consistency, all data for a given group comes from a single source. Amphibians - amphibiaweb; Reptiles - reptile-database; Fish - fishbase; Birds - birdlife; Mammals - IUCN; and Plants - World Conservation Monitoring Centre of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP-WCMC).| Animal / plant group | Species count |
|---|---|
| Birds | 681 |
| Amphibians | 89 |
| Reptiles | 182 |
| Fishes | 694 |
| Mammals | 257 |
| Vascular plants | 3725 |
Conservation data: Ghana
Data on threatened species in Ghana as of 2018, according to the IUCN Red List.| Taxa | Species count |
|---|---|
| Threatened mammals (2018) | 21 |
| Threatened birds (2018) | 23 |
| Threatened fishes (2018) | 58 |
| Threatened higher plants (2018) | 119 |
Protected areas data: Ghana
Data on threatened species in Ghana as of 2017, according to the World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) maintained by the United Nations Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC).| Protected areas (2017) | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Terrestrial protected areas, % of total land area | 15.1 |
| Marine protected areas, % of territorial waters |
Tree cover loss data for Ghana
"Tree cover threshold" is used for defining the tree cover area. For example, 75% includes only areas with more than 75% tree cover, whereas 10% includes all areas with more than 10% tree cover. 75% tree cover reflects a dense canopy.
| Tree cover threshold (%) | Total area (ha) | Tree cover Extent in 2000 (ha) | % land area | Tree cover Extent in 2010 (ha) | % land area | Tree cover Extent in 2018 (ha) | % land area | Tree cover loss 2001-2018 (ha) | % tree cover loss since 2000 | Avg tree cover loss/year (ha) | Avg loss/year 2001-2010 (ha) | Avg loss/year 2011-2018 (ha) |
| 10 | 23878697 | 18364317 | 76.90% | 17330468 | 72.60% | 16338336 | 68.40% | 1460431 | 8.00% | 81135 | 46830 | 124017 |
| 15 | 23878697 | 13308380 | 55.70% | 13650441 | 57.20% | 12720839 | 53.30% | 1373941 | 10.30% | 76330 | 44434 | 116200 |
| 20 | 23878697 | 8249510 | 34.50% | 9060280 | 37.90% | 8266125 | 34.60% | 1191773 | 14.40% | 66210 | 39762 | 99269 |
| 25 | 23878697 | 7937898 | 33.20% | 8553664 | 35.80% | 7774364 | 32.60% | 1170027 | 14.70% | 65002 | 39073 | 97413 |
| 30 | 23878697 | 6972040 | 29.20% | 7050775 | 29.50% | 6331329 | 26.50% | 1089185 | 15.60% | 60510 | 36974 | 89931 |
| 50 | 23878697 | 4263601 | 17.90% | 3619152 | 15.20% | 3170420 | 13.30% | 745462 | 17.50% | 41415 | 29673 | 56092 |
| 75 | 23878697 | 207798 | 0.90% | 169457 | 0.70% | 156607 | 0.70% | 60366 | 29.10% | 3354 | 4752 | 1606 |
Biomass and land use carbon emissions data for Ghana
"Tree cover threshold" is used for defining the tree cover area. For example, 75% includes only areas with more than 75% tree cover, whereas 10% includes all areas with more than 10% tree cover. 75% tree cover reflects a dense canopy.
| Tree cover threshold (%) | Total area (ha) | Tree cover Extent in 2000 (ha) | Tree cover Extent in 2010 (ha) | Carbon biomass (Mt) | Biomass loss 2001-18 (Mt) | Avg biomass loss/year (Mt) | Carbon emissions 2001-18 (Mt) | Avg carbon emissions/year (Mt) |
| 10 | 23878697 | 18364317 | 17330468 | 2769171024 | 180148601 | 10008256 | 330272441 | 18348469 |
| 15 | 23878697 | 13308380 | 13650441 | 2438642414 | 176876830 | 9826491 | 324274214 | 18015234 |
| 20 | 23878697 | 8249510 | 9060280 | 1932440346 | 166480761 | 9248931 | 305214725 | 16956374 |
| 25 | 23878697 | 7937898 | 8553664 | 1891933697 | 165002544 | 9166808 | 302504704 | 16805817 |
| 30 | 23878697 | 6972040 | 7050775 | 1759086181 | 159096530 | 8838696 | 291676966 | 16204276 |
| 50 | 23878697 | 4263601 | 3619152 | 1262275298 | 124291563 | 6905087 | 227867825 | 12659324 |
| 75 | 23878697 | 207798 | 169457 | 80678024 | 12644555 | 702475 | 23181692 | 1287872 |
Tree cover data for subnational administrative areas in Ghana
"This data is based on a definition of 30% tree cover. Areas with less than 30% canopy cover are excluded.
| Administrative area | Total area (ha) | Tree cover Extent in 2000 (ha) | Tree cover Extent in 2010 (ha) | Tree cover Extent in 2018 (ha) | % cover in 2018 | Loss 2001-2018 (ha) | % loss since 2000 | Avg loss/year since 2000 (ha) | Loss 2001-2010 (ha) | loss between 2000-2010 | Avg loss/year 2001-2010 (ha) | Loss 2011-2018 (ha) | loss between 2011-2018 | Avg loss/year 2011-2018 (ha) |
| Ashanti | 2496552 | 1537110 | 1517508 | 1345990 | 54% | 241692 | 16% | 13,427 | 70174 | 5% | 7,017 | 171518 | 11% | 21,440 |
| Brong Ahafo | 3955559 | 919040 | 1141352 | 1047115 | 26% | 127735 | 14% | 7,096 | 33498 | 4% | 3,350 | 94237 | 8% | 11,780 |
| Central | 968171 | 748753 | 713923 | 630091 | 65% | 145559 | 19% | 8,087 | 61727 | 8% | 6,173 | 83832 | 12% | 10,479 |
| Eastern | 1854270 | 959948 | 914431 | 806888 | 44% | 146600 | 15% | 8,144 | 39057 | 4% | 3,906 | 107543 | 12% | 13,443 |
| Greater Accra | 370222 | 7927 | 12975 | 12030 | 3% | 1786 | 23% | 99 | 841 | 11% | 84 | 945 | 7% | 118 |
| Northern | 6956980 | 4179 | 47352 | 47219 | 1% | 1649 | 39% | 92 | 1516 | 36% | 152 | 133 | 0% | 17 |
| Upper East | 862601 | 18 | 278 | 278 | 0% | 14 | 78% | 1 | 14 | 78% | 1 | 0 | 0% | - |
| Upper West | 1893731 | 63 | 792 | 791 | 0% | 59 | 94% | 3 | 58 | 92% | 6 | 1 | 0% | - |
| Volta | 2056799 | 445447 | 475889 | 453748 | 22% | 29266 | 7% | 1,626 | 7125 | 2% | 713 | 22141 | 5% | 2,768 |
| Western | 2463812 | 2349555 | 2226275 | 1987179 | 81% | 394825 | 17% | 21,935 | 155729 | 7% | 15,573 | 239096 | 11% | 29,887 |
Carbon dioxide emissions data for subnational administrative areas in Ghana
"This data is based on a definition of 30% tree cover. Areas with less than 30% canopy cover are excluded.
| Administrative area | Total area (ha) | Tree cover Extent in 2000 (ha) | Tree cover Extent in 2010 (ha) | Carbon biomass (Mt) | Carbon emissions 2001-18 (Mt) | Avg carbon emissions/year 2001-18 (Mt) | Avg carbon emissions/year 2001-10 (Mt) | Avg carbon emissions/year 2011-18 (Mt) |
| Ashanti | 2496552 | 1537110 | 1517508 | 357555554 | 59043528 | 3280196 | 1866074 | 5047848 |
| Brong Ahafo | 3955559 | 919040 | 1141352 | 187877139 | 26573316 | 1476295 | 818485 | 2298558 |
| Central | 968171 | 748753 | 713923 | 205824284 | 41543517 | 2307973 | 1912914 | 2801797 |
| Eastern | 1854270 | 959948 | 914431 | 223233016 | 35041132 | 1946730 | 1093560 | 3013192 |
| Greater Accra | 370222 | 7927 | 12975 | 1401188 | 328670 | 18259 | 17101 | 19707 |
| Northern | 6956980 | 4179 | 47352 | 818768 | 335366 | 18631 | 30865 | 3339 |
| Upper East | 862601 | 18 | 278 | 3987 | 3493 | 194 | 348 | 2 |
| Upper West | 1893731 | 63 | 792 | 13878 | 13473 | 749 | 1293 | 68 |
| Volta | 2056799 | 445447 | 475889 | 88981169 | 5786378 | 321465 | 156124 | 528142 |
| Western | 2463812 | 2349555 | 2226275 | 693377198 | 123008093 | 6833783 | 5162168 | 8923302 |
Biomass data for subnational administrative areas in Ghana
This data is based on a definition of 30% tree cover. Areas with less than 30% canopy cover are excluded.
| Administrative area | Total area (ha) | Tree cover Extent in 2000 (ha) | Tree cover Extent in 2010 (ha) | Carbon biomass (Mt) | Avg biomass per ha (Mt) | Carbon emissions 2001-18 (Mt) | Avg annual emissions 2001-18 (Mt) | Avg annual emissions 2001-10 (Mt) | Avg annual emissions 2011-18 (Mt) |
| Ashanti | 2496552 | 1537110 | 1517508 | 195030301 | 127 | 32205559 | 1789198 | 1017858 | 2753372 |
| Brong Ahafo | 3955559 | 919040 | 1141352 | 102478437 | 111 | 14494531 | 805252 | 446446 | 1253759 |
| Central | 968171 | 748753 | 713923 | 112267791 | 150 | 22660105 | 1258895 | 1043408 | 1528253 |
| Eastern | 1854270 | 959948 | 914431 | 121763460 | 127 | 19113352 | 1061853 | 596488 | 1643560 |
| Greater Accra | 370222 | 7927 | 12975 | 764285 | 96 | 179278 | 9960 | 9328 | 10749 |
| Northern | 6956980 | 4179 | 47352 | 446600 | 107 | 182930 | 10163 | 16836 | 1822 |
| Upper East | 862601 | 18 | 278 | 2176 | 118 | 1905 | 106 | 190 | 1 |
| Upper West | 1893731 | 63 | 792 | 7570 | 122 | 7347 | 408 | 705 | 37 |
| Volta | 2056799 | 445447 | 475889 | 48535184 | 109 | 3156201 | 175345 | 85158 | 288077 |
| Western | 2463812 | 2349555 | 2226275 | 378205745 | 161 | 67095322 | 3727518 | 2815728 | 4867256 |
Archived forest data for Ghana | Forest data for Ghana
Data Source: Tree cover loss: Hansen/UMD/Google/USGS/NASA via Global Forest Watch. Administrative boundaries: Global Administrative Areas database (GADM), version 3.6.
Citation: Mongabay. "Deforestation statistics for [selected country name]". Accessed on [date] from worldrainforests.com.
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