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Indicator

Deforestation in the Legal Amazon (PRODES)

Area of clear-cut forest in the Legal Amazon detected by satellite in each PRODES year (August 1 to July 31).

Unit
km²
Population
Primary forest in the Legal Amazon
Territory
Legal Amazon (9 states)
Frequency
Annual (PRODES year, August to July)
Desirable direction
Lower is better

Comparisons

The start and end points always come from the same series. The rule for choosing the years is given next to each comparison.

  • 2002 → 2010: 21,650 → 7,000 km² (-67.7%).
    Series: Annual deforestation rate, Legal Amazon. Rule: Last year before the first term (2002) and last full year of the second (2010), in the same series. The PRODES year ends in July.
  • 2022 → 2025: 11,594 → 5,731 km² (-50.6%).
    Series: Annual deforestation rate, Legal Amazon. Rule: Last year before the third term (2022) and last full year available, in the same series. The PRODES year ends in July.

Annual deforestation rate, Legal Amazon

Sum of the areas of the nine states per PRODES year. The year 2003, for example, covers Aug/2002 to Jul/2003. The dashboard file is not a documented API; check against INPE's technical notes.

Methodology sheet (from the cited documentation; no metadata available through an API)
Variable
area deforested per PRODES year (sum of the 9 states)
Unit in the source
km²
Territory
Legal Amazon
Population
Primary forest in the Legal Amazon
Frequency in the source
annual (Aug to Jul)
Annual value
Sum of the areas of the 9 states
Values
quantity
Seasonal adjustment
not applicable
Revisions
Estimated rate, later consolidated (claim desmatamento-amazonia.estimada-consolidada).
Metadata
official lookup (checked on 2026-10-14)
Annual deforestation rate, Legal Amazon, 1995 to 2025, in km². The values are in the table below.Lula 1Lula 2Lula 307,26514,53021,79429,05919951998200120042007201020132016201920222025
Annual deforestation rate, Legal Amazon. Source: INPE, PRODES Project (TerraBrasilis rates2025.json (soma dos 9 estados)), extracted on 2026-10-13. Hollow points: preliminary or partial data. Shaded bands, bounded by dashed lines: years of Lula's terms in office (also marked in the table).
Table with all values (31 periods)
Annual deforestation rate, Legal Amazon (km²)
PeriodValueStatusTerm in office that year
199529,059finalother government
199618,161finalother government
199713,227finalother government
199817,383finalother government
199917,259finalother government
200018,226finalother government
200118,165finalother government
200221,650finalother government
200325,396finalLula 1
200427,772finalLula 1
200519,014finalLula 1
200614,286finalLula 1
200711,651finalLula 2
200812,911finalLula 2
20097,464finalLula 2
20107,000finalLula 2
20116,418finalother government
20124,571finalother government
20135,891finalother government
20145,012finalother government
20156,207finalother government
20167,893finalother government
20176,947finalother government
20187,536finalother government
201910,129finalother government
202010,851finalother government
202113,038finalother government
202211,594finalother government
20239,064finalLula 3
20246,518finalLula 3
20255,731finalLula 3

Download CSV · Original query (TerraBrasilis rates2025.json (soma dos 9 estados))

Context and interpretation

The consolidated deforestation rate in the nine states of the Legal Amazon in 2025 (PRODES year) is 5,731 km².[1]

For the Amazon, PRODES only considers polygons larger than 6.25 hectares in calculating the rate; the rate calculated for PRODES year 2020, for example, estimates the deforestation that occurred between 08/01/2019 and 07/31/2020.[2]

According to INPE's methodology, the estimate of the annual PRODES rate is normally released between late November and early December; in the following year, the consolidated rate is calculated considering the deforestation area mapped in all available scenes that cover the ALB.[3]

Sources and evidence

Excerpts are quoted in the original language of the source.

  1. 1. The consolidated deforestation rate in the nine states of the Legal Amazon in 2025 (PRODES year) is 5,731 km².

  2. 2. For the Amazon, PRODES only considers polygons larger than 6.25 hectares in calculating the rate; the rate calculated for PRODES year 2020, for example, estimates the deforestation that occurred between 08/01/2019 and 07/31/2020.

  3. 3. According to INPE's methodology, the estimate of the annual PRODES rate is normally released between late November and early December; in the following year, the consolidated rate is calculated considering the deforestation area mapped in all available scenes that cover the ALB.

    • Metodologia utilizada nos sistemas PRODES e DETER – 2ª edição · INPE Official statistics
      Where: PDF p. 23, section 3.3.3. Accessed October 13, 2026.
      “é feita a estimativa da taxa anual, divulgada normalmente entre final de novembro e início de dezembro. No ano seguinte, a taxa consolidada para o referido ano PRODES é calculada considerando a área de desmatamento mapeada em todas as cenas disponíveis que recobrem a ALB,”