Ethiopia has a history of deforestation due in part to its rapidly growing population, unsustainable farming, and climate change.

Ethiopia set a personal goal of 200 million trees to be planted in a day following Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's bid against deforestation.

In just 12 hours, the country planted more than 350 million trees, believed to be a world record.

The country is not planning on stopping and aims to plant four billion trees between May and October as a part of its tree-planting campaign.

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More than 350 million trees were planted in Ethiopia in just 12 hours in a bid against deforestation from the country's prime minister.

The number planted is believed to be a world record and surpassed an initial goal of 200 million to be planted in a day.

The action, led by prime minister Abiy Ahmed, aims to help restore the country's landscape, which experts say is fast being eroded by deforestation and climate change.

He tweeted on Monday: "Congratulations Ethiopia for not only meeting our collective green legacy goal but also exceeding it."

The prime minister himself had planted trees in Ethiopia's southern region.

Abiy Ahmed plans to have the campaign continue, aiming for four billion trees to be planted. AFP/Getty Images

The country is in the middle of a tree-planting campaign in which it aims to plant four billion trees between May and October.

Agriculture officials stated that so far, more than 2.6 billion trees have been planted across the East African nation.

According to Farm Africa, an organization involved in forest management in Ethiopia, less than four percent of the country's land is now forested, a sharp decline from around 30 percent at the end of the 19th century.

Often cited as the causes for rapid deforestation in Ethiopia are its rapidly growing population and the need for more farmlands, unsustainable forest use, and climate change.

Various international organizations and businesses have joined the tree planting spree along with members of the public.

It is not yet clear if Guinness World Records is monitoring Ethiopia's mass planting scheme.

However, the prime minister's office said specially developed software is helping with the count.