Global rainforest loss continues at rate of 10 football pitches a minute

While Brazil had significantly slowed its rate of forest loss, the country remained one of the top three countries for losing primary rainforest. Picture: Dr Erika Berengue/PA Wire

The destruction of the world’s most pristine rainforests continued at a relentless rate in 2023, despite dramatic falls in forest loss in the Brazilian and Colombian Amazon, new figures show.

An area nearly the size of Switzerland was cleared from previously undisturbed rainforests last year, totalling 37,000sq km, according to figures compiled by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the University of Maryland.