6 million hectares of land and US$42 billion lost annually from desertification

United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification

One fifth of the world’s population and a third of the earth’s surface which adds up to an area of over 4 billion hectares of the planet are threatened by global desertification.

Since 1990, around six million hectares of productive land have been lost due to desertification annually, with a subsequent income losses wordwide of US$42 billion per year.

Source: Desertification costs $42 billion per year – United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)

Date: 1 June 2004