In 2021, Ghana had a forest area of nearly 80 thousand square kilometers. This represented roughly 35 percent of the country’s total land area. The total extent had expanded since 2016, when it stood at approximately 79.2 square kilometers. In contrast, between 2008 and 2015, the forest stretch followed a contracting trend. A forest area refers to land under natural or planted stands of trees of a minimum of five meters in situ, excluding trees in urban parks and gardens.
Annually decreasing forest land
In spite of the large tree extent in Ghana, the latter experiences constant forest and tree cover losses. In 2021, around 10.4 thousand hectares of primary forest were lost in the country, which was the highest area of forest lost since 2001. The primary cause of tree cover loss in Ghana is shifting agriculture, which usually emanates from small- and medium-scale agricultural activities. In 2019, over 80 thousand hectares of tree cover were lost from shifting agriculture.
Ghana benefits from forestry
Forest rents covered nearly four percent of Ghana’s GDP in 2020. This represented a slight growth in the contribution of forestry to the country’s economy. Specifically, the forestry and logging industry contributed over 1.8 million Ghanaian cedis, equivalent of 231 million U.S. dollars, to Ghana’s GDP in 2020.
Total forest area in Ghana from 2008 to 2021
(in square kilometers)
The source mentions that 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.
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World Bank. (October 26, 2023). Total forest area in Ghana from 2008 to 2021 (in square kilometers) [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved December 22, 2024, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1153830/total-forest-area-in-ghana-in-square-kilometers/
World Bank. "Total forest area in Ghana from 2008 to 2021 (in square kilometers)." Chart. October 26, 2023. Statista. Accessed December 22, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1153830/total-forest-area-in-ghana-in-square-kilometers/
World Bank. (2023). Total forest area in Ghana from 2008 to 2021 (in square kilometers). Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: December 22, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1153830/total-forest-area-in-ghana-in-square-kilometers/
World Bank. "Total Forest Area in Ghana from 2008 to 2021 (in Square Kilometers)." Statista, Statista Inc., 26 Oct 2023, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1153830/total-forest-area-in-ghana-in-square-kilometers/
World Bank, Total forest area in Ghana from 2008 to 2021 (in square kilometers) Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1153830/total-forest-area-in-ghana-in-square-kilometers/ (last visited December 22, 2024)
Total forest area in Ghana from 2008 to 2021 (in square kilometers) [Graph], World Bank, October 26, 2023. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1153830/total-forest-area-in-ghana-in-square-kilometers/