Forests are essential to our planet’s survival, especially in this day and age when global warming is a major concern. These biodiverse environments, found in Africa and elsewhere, are teeming with activity and are critical to sustaining life as we know it. Thus, forest preservation is critical to humanity’s survival.
From the lush rainforests of the Congo Basin to the renowned savannas of the Serengeti, Africa’s forests have a magnificent ecosystem. These forests not only support a vast range of plant and animal species, but they also supply critical ecosystem services required to sustain life on Earth.
These landscapes naturally regulate the temperature, sequester carbon, filter water and air, prevent soil erosion, and provide livelihoods for millions of people. Despite the worrisome rate of deforestation in Africa, the continent still has considerable forested regions.
Unfortunately, not all of Africa can claim this feature. While some countries have done an excellent job maintaining their forests, others have not. Furthermore, some sections of the continent simply do not support this type of ecology, resulting in extremely low biodiversity.
Our World in Data defines a forest area as a territory with planted or naturally occurring tree stands at least five meters tall, excluding those used in agricultural production systems.
The website compared countries’ forest areas to their total land area, using data from 2020.
With that said, below are the African countries with the least forest areas.
| Rank | Country | % of forest area |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Egypt | < 0.1% |
| 2. | Libya | 0.1% |
| 3. | Mauritania | 0.3% |
| 4. | Djibouti | 0.3% |
| 5. | Algeria | 0.8% |
| 6. | Niger | 0.9% |
| 7. | Lesotho | 1.1% |
| 8. | Western Sahara | 2.5% |
| 9. | Chad | 3.4% |
| 10. | Tunisia | 4.5% |