Deforestation: Quick Facts

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The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

Oct. 23, 2026

News •

How close is the Amazon to a 'tipping point?' Brazil’s election could help shape its future • Oct. 23, 2026, 7:04 AM ET (AP)

Photos and Videos

Edge of a dense forest in Romania where clear cutting has removed most trees, leaving a bare, brown slope beside standing green trees.

Deforestation in Brazil

World map using color codes to show the distribution of tropical rainforests, dry or deciduous forests, and deforested areas in the early 21st century. Dense green highlights rainforests in regions like the Amazon Basin, Central Africa, Southeast Asia, and parts of Central America, while yellow and orange indicate dry forests and areas affected by deforestation.

Illegal mining operation

Borneo deforestation

Macaws in Manú National Park, Peru

Aerial view of a quarry site with exposed brown earth and construction vehicles, adjacent to dense green forest in Malappuram, Kerala, India.

Aerial view of Nauru, a small island surrounded by blue ocean, showing a narrow coastal strip of greenery and a barren, mined interior landscape.

Aerial view of Amazon rainforest showing a large cleared area with exposed soil and felled trees bordering dense green forest.

Learn how the Brazilian government incentivized forest clearing in the Amazon for beef production and ranching

Learn how deforestation in Central American countries like Belize gives way to erosion and poverty

Why are rainforests so important?

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Topics

What Happens to Earth If the Amazon Rainforest Is Completely Burned?Climate change endangered species environmental change reforestation habitat loss biodiversity loss Ecocide pollution Forest fire conservation Temperate forest ecological footprint Deciduous forest sustainability Rainforest

Chutes d'Ekom - a waterfall on the Nkam river in the rainforest near Melong, in the western highlands of Cameroon in Africa.

Ecosystems

Chutes d'Ekom - a waterfall on the Nkam river in the rainforest near Melong, in the western highlands of Cameroon in Africa.

Ecosystems