Africa lost roughly 116 million hectares of forest between 1990 and 2025, according to the 2025 Global Forest Resource Assessment. That's a area of forest that isn't coming back fast enough.

Only 10 of the continent's 54 countries recorded any increase in forest cover. South Africa gained 3,064 million hectares and Ghana added 1.25 million, but these modest recoveries are dwarfed by losses elsewhere. The Democratic Republic of the Congo lost 21,351 million hectares, Tanzania 14,765 million, and Angola 14,271 million.

The pattern is stark. Individual gains are small and rare. Losses are massive and widespread. Recovery efforts exist, but they are not keeping pace with the scale of destruction. For a continent already vulnerable to climate impacts, the steady disappearance of forest cover carries consequences that compound over time, for biodiversity, water systems, and the communities that depend on them.