Commodity driven deforestation in South Africa
South Africa: Commodity driven deforestation was 3,723 in 2024. ▲ Rising
Commodity driven deforestation in South Africa, 2001–2024
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 3,723 for commodity driven deforestation in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 24 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 8.7% on the previous year and down 53.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, commodity driven deforestation in South Africa peaked at 9,896 in 2017 and was at its lowest, 3,723, in 2024.
That places South Africa 57th out of 187 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 24 years of available data.
Commodity driven deforestation in South Africa, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 5,394 | — |
| 2002 | 3,806 | -29.4% |
| 2003 | 5,346 | +40.5% |
| 2004 | 8,127 | +52.0% |
| 2005 | 5,689 | -30.0% |
| 2006 | 7,274 | +27.9% |
| 2007 | 6,219 | -14.5% |
| 2008 | 6,052 | -2.7% |
| 2009 | 5,297 | -12.5% |
| 2010 | 4,199 | -20.7% |
| 2011 | 5,133 | +22.2% |
| 2012 | 4,780 | -6.9% |
| 2013 | 6,038 | +26.3% |
| 2014 | 8,075 | +33.7% |
| 2015 | 6,557 | -18.8% |
| 2016 | 8,525 | +30.0% |
| 2017 | 9,896 | +16.1% |
| 2018 | 8,005 | -19.1% |
| 2019 | 6,507 | -18.7% |
| 2020 | 7,590 | +16.7% |
| 2021 | 6,233 | -17.9% |
| 2022 | 4,565 | -26.8% |
| 2023 | 4,079 | -10.7% |
| 2024 | 3,723 | -8.7% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 3,723 is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 460.26, 8.1× the median. (51 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 3,723 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 3,723, 1.0× the median. (45 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 5,912 | 3,806 | 8,127 | 9 |
| 2010s | 6,771 | 4,199 | 9,896 | 10 |
| 2020s | 5,238 | 3,723 | 7,590 | 5 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
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 commodity driven deforestation in South Africa?
- Commodity driven deforestation in South Africa was 3,723 in 2024, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest commodity driven deforestation recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 9,896 in 2017.
- What is the lowest commodity driven deforestation recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 3,723 in 2024.
- How does South Africa rank for commodity driven deforestation?
- South Africa ranks 57th out of 187 countries with data for 2024.
- Is commodity driven deforestation rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 53.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Commodity driven deforestation. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 24 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).