Forest cover and change in low- and middle-income countries aggregated to administrative areas (2000–2020)

A dataset of forest cover and forest cover change for 2000–2020 in low- and middle-income countries, constructed by aggregating high-resolution satellite-derived land cover data to 35502 subnational administrative areas. These spatial units are socially and politically meaningful and designed to be compatible with geocoded household survey data from the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), while also supporting integration with other datasets. The dataset includes baseline forest cover in 2000 and changes in forest cover at five-year intervals up to 2020. By eliminating the need for spatial data processing, it enables researchers to analyse deforestation and forest gain using standard statistical tools.