Change forest area share total in South Africa
South Africa: Change forest area share total was 0.3827 in 2025. ▼ Falling
Latest (2025)
0.3827
Change on year
down 0.4%
World rank
27th
of 228 countries
All-time high
0.4399
in 1991
All-time low
0.3827
in 2025
Years of data
35
1991–2025
Change forest area share total in South Africa, 1991–2025
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for change forest area share total in South Africa is 0.3827, measured in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 35 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.4% on the previous year and down 3.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, change forest area share total in South Africa peaked at 0.4399 in 1991 and was at its lowest, 0.3827, in 2025.
That places South Africa 27th out of 228 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 35 years of available data.
Change forest area share total in South Africa, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 0.4399 | — |
| 1992 | 0.438 | -0.4% |
| 1993 | 0.4361 | -0.4% |
| 1994 | 0.4342 | -0.4% |
| 1995 | 0.4323 | -0.4% |
| 1996 | 0.4305 | -0.4% |
| 1997 | 0.4286 | -0.4% |
| 1998 | 0.4268 | -0.4% |
| 1999 | 0.425 | -0.4% |
| 2000 | 0.4232 | -0.4% |
| 2001 | 0.4214 | -0.4% |
| 2002 | 0.4196 | -0.4% |
| 2003 | 0.4179 | -0.4% |
| 2004 | 0.4161 | -0.4% |
| 2005 | 0.4144 | -0.4% |
| 2006 | 0.4127 | -0.4% |
| 2007 | 0.411 | -0.4% |
| 2008 | 0.4093 | -0.4% |
| 2009 | 0.4077 | -0.4% |
| 2010 | 0.406 | -0.4% |
| 2011 | 0.4044 | -0.4% |
| 2012 | 0.4027 | -0.4% |
| 2013 | 0.4011 | -0.4% |
| 2014 | 0.3995 | -0.4% |
| 2015 | 0.3979 | -0.4% |
| 2016 | 0.3963 | -0.4% |
| 2017 | 0.3948 | -0.4% |
| 2018 | 0.3932 | -0.4% |
| 2019 | 0.3917 | -0.4% |
| 2020 | 0.3902 | -0.4% |
| 2021 | 0.3886 | -0.4% |
| 2022 | 0.3871 | -0.4% |
| 2023 | 0.3856 | -0.4% |
| 2024 | 0.3842 | -0.4% |
| 2025 | 0.3827 | -0.4% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 0.3827 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is -0.3469. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 0.4324 | 0.425 | 0.4399 | 9 |
| 2000s | 0.4153 | 0.4077 | 0.4232 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.3988 | 0.3917 | 0.406 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.3864 | 0.3827 | 0.3902 | 6 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
- 24 Fiji 0.4075 compare
- 25 Kazakhstan 0.3948 compare
- 26 United Kingdom 0.3844 compare
- 28 Ukraine 0.3766 compare
- 29 Haiti 0.3762 compare
- 30 Guadeloupe 0.3571 compare
More environment data for South Africa
- Grazing land use over the long-term, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Grazing land use over the long-term, per unit of GDP 0.0002 hectares per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Grazing land use over the long-term, per capita 1.3 hectares per person (2025)
- 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)
- Grazing land use over the long-term, per square kilometre 69.19 hectares per square kilometre (2024)
- Sawnwood, coniferous — Production, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is change forest area share total in South Africa?
- Change forest area share total in South Africa was 0.3827 in 2025, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest change forest area share total recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 0.4399 in 1991.
- What is the lowest change forest area share total recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.3827 in 2025.
- How does South Africa rank for change forest area share total?
- South Africa ranks 27th out of 228 countries with data for 2025.
- Is change forest area share total rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 3.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Change forest area share total. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 35 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).