Forest area in South Africa
South Africa: Forest area was 22.88 million hectares in 2025. ▲ Rising
Forest area in South Africa, 1990–2025
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
The most recent figure for forest area in South Africa is 22.88 million hectares, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 36 years on record.
The figure is up 0.4% on the previous year and up 4.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, forest area in South Africa peaked at 22.88 million hectares in 2025 and was at its lowest, 19.82 million hectares, in 1990.
That places South Africa 27th out of 235 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 36 years of available data.
Forest area in South Africa, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 19.82 million hectares | — |
| 1991 | 19.90 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 1992 | 19.99 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 1993 | 20.08 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 1994 | 20.17 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 1995 | 20.25 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 1996 | 20.34 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 1997 | 20.43 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 1998 | 20.52 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 1999 | 20.60 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 2000 | 20.69 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 2001 | 20.78 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 2002 | 20.87 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 2003 | 20.95 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 2004 | 21.04 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 2005 | 21.13 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 2006 | 21.22 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 2007 | 21.31 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 2008 | 21.39 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 2009 | 21.48 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 2010 | 21.57 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 2011 | 21.66 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 2012 | 21.74 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 2013 | 21.83 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 2014 | 21.92 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 2015 | 22.01 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 2016 | 22.09 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 2017 | 22.18 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 2018 | 22.27 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 2019 | 22.36 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 2020 | 22.44 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 2021 | 22.53 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 2022 | 22.62 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 2023 | 22.71 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 2024 | 22.79 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 2025 | 22.88 million hectares | +0.4% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 22.88 million hectares is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 2.29 million hectares, 10.0× the median. (58 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 22.88 million hectares is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 4.37 million hectares, 5.2× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 20.21 million hectares | 19.82 million hectares | 20.60 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 21.09 million hectares | 20.69 million hectares | 21.48 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 21.96 million hectares | 21.57 million hectares | 22.36 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 22.66 million hectares | 22.44 million hectares | 22.88 million hectares | 6 |
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)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 2.59 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), annual growth rate 0.2953 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is forest area in South Africa?
- Forest area in South Africa was 22.88 million hectares in 2025, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest forest area recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 22.88 million hectares in 2025.
- What is the lowest forest area recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 19.82 million hectares in 1990.
- How does South Africa rank for forest area?
- South Africa ranks 27th out of 235 countries with data for 2025.
- Is forest area rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Forest area. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 36 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Forest area is land under natural or planted stands of trees of at least 5 meters in situ, whether productive or not, and excludes tree stands in agricultural production systems.