Forest area km in South Africa
South Africa: Forest area km was 22.88 million in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
22.88 million
Change on year
up 0.4%
World rank
27th
of 235 countries
All-time high
22.88 million
in 2025
All-time low
19.82 million
in 1990
Years of data
36
1990–2025
Forest area km in South Africa, 1990–2025
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for forest area km in South Africa is 22.88 million, 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 km in South Africa peaked at 22.88 million in 2025 and was at its lowest, 19.82 million, 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 km in South Africa, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 19.82 million | — |
| 1991 | 19.90 million | +0.4% |
| 1992 | 19.99 million | +0.4% |
| 1993 | 20.08 million | +0.4% |
| 1994 | 20.17 million | +0.4% |
| 1995 | 20.25 million | +0.4% |
| 1996 | 20.34 million | +0.4% |
| 1997 | 20.43 million | +0.4% |
| 1998 | 20.52 million | +0.4% |
| 1999 | 20.60 million | +0.4% |
| 2000 | 20.69 million | +0.4% |
| 2001 | 20.78 million | +0.4% |
| 2002 | 20.87 million | +0.4% |
| 2003 | 20.95 million | +0.4% |
| 2004 | 21.04 million | +0.4% |
| 2005 | 21.13 million | +0.4% |
| 2006 | 21.22 million | +0.4% |
| 2007 | 21.31 million | +0.4% |
| 2008 | 21.39 million | +0.4% |
| 2009 | 21.48 million | +0.4% |
| 2010 | 21.57 million | +0.4% |
| 2011 | 21.66 million | +0.4% |
| 2012 | 21.74 million | +0.4% |
| 2013 | 21.83 million | +0.4% |
| 2014 | 21.92 million | +0.4% |
| 2015 | 22.01 million | +0.4% |
| 2016 | 22.09 million | +0.4% |
| 2017 | 22.18 million | +0.4% |
| 2018 | 22.27 million | +0.4% |
| 2019 | 22.36 million | +0.4% |
| 2020 | 22.44 million | +0.4% |
| 2021 | 22.53 million | +0.4% |
| 2022 | 22.62 million | +0.4% |
| 2023 | 22.71 million | +0.4% |
| 2024 | 22.79 million | +0.4% |
| 2025 | 22.88 million | +0.4% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 22.88 million is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 2.29 million, 10.0× the median. (58 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 22.88 million is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 4.37 million, 5.2× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 20.21 million | 19.82 million | 20.60 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 21.09 million | 20.69 million | 21.48 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 21.96 million | 21.57 million | 22.36 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 22.66 million | 22.44 million | 22.88 million | 6 |
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 forest area km in South Africa?
- Forest area km in South Africa was 22.88 million in 2025, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest forest area km recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 22.88 million in 2025.
- What is the lowest forest area km recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 19.82 million in 1990.
- How does South Africa rank for forest area km?
- South Africa ranks 27th out of 235 countries with data for 2025.
- Is forest area km 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 Our World in Data, published as part of Forest area km. 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).