Cases / Tree planting · Ethiopia · 2019–2025
Ethiopia: 353 million seedlings in a day
Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
Not on record
- The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
What the record lacks: 5 none on record · 2 self-reported only · 1 not measured · 1 unclear See the gaps
Ethiopia announced that 353,633,660 seedlings were planted in 12 hours in July 2019. The government later put survival above 80%; a study in one district found 39.8%.
83.4% vs 39.8%Survival: government figure vs one district study
Government's own figure; the 39.8% comes from a single district, not a national count.
Government's own figure; the 39.8% comes from a single district, not a national count.
What?
On 29 July 2019 the government of Ethiopia announced that 353,633,660 seedlings had been planted in 12 hours, a figure from its own count. The government later put survival above 80%; a study in one district found 39.8%. Al Jazeera
Where?
Ethiopia, nationwide; the survival study covered Gubalafto district.
When?
Planting day on 29 July 2019; the Prime Minister said in 2020 that 84% of seedlings had survived; UNIAN reported the Gubalafto district study in 2025. Al Jazeera
Who?
Gained
None on recordLost
None on recordHarmed
None on recordWhy?
The government put survival at 84% (Prime Minister, 2020) and 83.4%, its own figures with no independent audit on record. A study in Gubalafto district found a survival rate of 39.8%. UNIAN
How?
The campaign was reported by the number of seedlings planted, counted by the government itself. No national figure for trees still standing, measured by a party other than the government, is on record. Al Jazeera
In proportion The district study's survival rate (39.8%) was less than half the government's figure (83.4%). UNIAN
5 of 6 questions answered from the record · open: who
What happened
The record, in order.
On 29 July 2019 the government of Ethiopia announced that 353,633,660 seedlings had been planted in 12 hours. The figure came from the government's own count.
In 2020 the Prime Minister said that 84% of the seedlings had survived. The government's survival figure has also been reported as 83.4%. No independent audit of the planting count or of survival is on record.
A study in Gubalafto district found a survival rate of 39.8%, as reported by UNIAN (in Russian). The study covers one district, not the whole country.
The campaign was reported by its number of seedlings planted. No national figure for trees still standing, measured by a party other than the government, is on record.
- 2019Government announces 353,633,660 seedlings planted in 12 hours (29 Jul)
- 2020Prime Minister says 84% of seedlings survived
- 2025UNIAN reports district study in Gubalafto: 39.8% survival
How it looked
What was shown, beside what was recorded.
Shown
- 353 million seedlings planted in 12 hours
- 84% of seedlings alive (Prime Minister, 2020)
Recorded
- Planting count: the government's own figure
- Government survival figure 83.4%; one district study 39.8%
- No independent national survival audit on record
Who gained
Money that reached nature, beside money that stayed elsewhere.
Reached nature or the ground
Not published
Cost of the campaign—
Not in the source record.
Gained elsewhere
Not totalled
Currency: USD · Window: —. All figures cover the same period. * Estimate built from cited figures.
In court and with insurers
Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.
Lawsuits and rulings
No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.
Insurers
No insurer decision on record.
What nature saw
Outcomes measured on the ground, and nature's note.
Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.
Seedlings planted (government count)
353.6m
12 hours, 29 July 2019
Survival, government
83.4–84%
No independent audit
Survival, Gubalafto district study
39.8%
One district only
What we don't know
Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: No independent ecological evaluation is on record.
Money
- None on record Cost of the campaign — Not in the source record.
Court
- None on record No court case on record.
Figures
- Self-reported only Trees planted: Government's own figure; no independent count.
- Self-reported only Survival rate: Stated by the Prime Minister; government's own figure; no independent audit.
Record
- Unclear Whether the 353.6 million planting count was independently checked: no audit on record.
- None on record An independently measured national survival rate: none on record.
- None on record The cost of the campaign and who supplied the seedlings.
- None on record A later report headline refers to 805 million seedlings planted in twelve hours with 26 million participants; this figure has not been verified.
Did the harm stop?
Not applicable.
Who paid?
Not quantified.
Sources
Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society— Researchers
Press and investigations
- Ethiopia plants more than 350 million trees in a dayAl Jazeera · 2019-07-30
- Ethiopia: over 350 million trees planted in 12 hoursAfrik21 · 2019
Connected cases
Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
- Record tree-planting claims in Ethiopia, India and Türkiye lack independent checks Multiple countries · 2017–2020
- Government of Ethiopia (Government) — here: Organiser; source of the planting and survival figures; there: announced one-day planting total and survival claim