Brazil accounted for 42% of global tropical rainforest loss in 2024, leading the world in rainforest loss, according to data from the University of Maryland’s Global Land Analysis and Discovery laboratory.
The 2024 spike in Amazon forest loss was largely due to widespread fires in Brazil, many of which were started by arson and related criminal activity.
Brazilian government data found 91% of forest loss in the Amazon is linked to illegal activities, such as land clearing for agriculture and artisanal mining, often orchestrated by international criminal enterprises.
The majority of the 2024 fires occurred in the “arc of deforestation,” stretching from east to west along the southern flank of the biome. This area is where most forest conversion to agriculture and cattle ranching has occurred, and where the majority of people in the Amazon reside.
Brazilian rainforest loss unrelated to fires also increased by 13% between 2023 and 2024, primarily driven by the conversion of forests to agricultural land.
After Brazil, the countries with the highest tropical rainforest loss are Bolivia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Indonesia.
