Agriculture, forestry, fishing (general government expenditure) in South Africa
South Africa: Agriculture, forestry, fishing (general government expenditure) was 1.42 % in 2023. ▼ Falling
Agriculture, forestry, fishing (general government expenditure) in South Africa, 2001–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for agriculture, forestry, fishing (general government expenditure) in South Africa is 1.42 %, measured in 2023.
That represents a change of up 24.6% on the previous year and down 9.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, agriculture, forestry, fishing (general government expenditure) in South Africa peaked at 2.03 % in 2007 and was at its lowest, 1.05 %, in 2021.
South Africa ranks 47th of 101 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 23 years of available data.
Agriculture, forestry, fishing (general government expenditure) in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 1.65 % | — |
| 2002 | 1.57 % | -4.8% |
| 2003 | 1.7 % | +8.3% |
| 2004 | 1.46 % | -14.1% |
| 2005 | 1.71 % | +17.1% |
| 2006 | 1.77 % | +3.5% |
| 2007 | 2.03 % | +14.7% |
| 2008 | 1.85 % | -8.9% |
| 2009 | 1.61 % | -13.0% |
| 2010 | 1.72 % | +6.8% |
| 2011 | 1.64 % | -4.7% |
| 2012 | 1.61 % | -1.8% |
| 2013 | 1.57 % | -2.5% |
| 2014 | 1.57 % | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 1.41 % | -10.2% |
| 2016 | 1.34 % | -5.0% |
| 2017 | 1.35 % | +0.7% |
| 2018 | 1.22 % | -9.6% |
| 2019 | 1.24 % | +1.6% |
| 2020 | 1.27 % | +2.4% |
| 2021 | 1.05 % | -17.3% |
| 2022 | 1.14 % | +8.6% |
| 2023 | 1.42 % | +24.6% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 1.42 % is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 2.04 %, 69% of the median. (28 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 1.42 % is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 2.76 %, 51% of the median. (16 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 1.71 % | 1.46 % | 2.03 % | 9 |
| 2010s | 1.47 % | 1.22 % | 1.72 % | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.22 % | 1.05 % | 1.42 % | 4 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More environment data for South Africa
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 5.46 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 8.52 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.275 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.05 °C (2025)
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Export quantity, gaps filled 172,469 t (2024)
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Agricultural Use, gaps filled 640,129 t (2024)
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Agricultural Use, annual growth rate 10.74 % change on previous year (2024)
- Nutrient phosphate P2O5 (total) — Import quantity, gaps filled 187,679 t (2024)
- Nutrient phosphate P2O5 (total) — Import quantity, annual growth rate 35.24 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is agriculture, forestry, fishing (general government expenditure) in South Africa?
- Agriculture, forestry, fishing (general government expenditure) in South Africa was 1.42 % in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest agriculture, forestry, fishing (general government expenditure) recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 2.03 % in 2007.
- What is the lowest agriculture, forestry, fishing (general government expenditure) recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.05 % in 2021.
- How does South Africa rank for agriculture, forestry, fishing (general government expenditure)?
- South Africa ranks 47th out of 101 countries with data for 2023.
- Is agriculture, forestry, fishing (general government expenditure) rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 9.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Agriculture, forestry, fishing (general government expenditure) — Share of Total Expenditure. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 23 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO).
About this data
The Statistics Division of FAO collects annually data on Government Expenditure on Agriculture through a questionnaire, which was developed in partnership with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IMF is the responsible institution for the Government Finance Statistics (GFS) methodology and annually collects GFS data, including Expenditure by Functions of Government (COFOG). The Classification of the Functions of Government (COFOG) is an international classification developed by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and published by the United Nations Statistical Division (UNSD), with the aim of categorise governments' functions according to their purposes. The FAO questionnaire aligns with Table 7 of the IMF GFS questionnaire, replicates the relevant aggregates and drills down to request additional detail related to Agriculture. The FAO dataset consists of a time series, from 2001 onwards, of Total Government Expenditure and expenditure in: Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting, along with its three disaggregated subsectors of Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing; and Environmental Protection. In addition, expenditure in each detailed function are further disaggregated into Recurrent and Capital expenditure. Additional indicators include the Agriculture Share of Government Expenditure, and the Agriculture Orientation Index (ratio between the Agriculture Share of Government Expenditure and the Agriculture Value Added as Share of GDP). Data are reported for the highest level of government available (Consolidated general government, consolidated central government or budgetary central government) and are available for about 100 countries on a regular basis.