Forest land — Area in South Africa
South Africa: Forest land — Area was 22,881 1000 ha in 2025. ▲ Rising
Forest land — Area in South Africa, 1990–2025
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in 1000 ha.
Analysis
The most recent figure for forest land — area in South Africa is 22,881 1000 ha, 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 land — area in South Africa peaked at 22,881 1000 ha in 2025 and was at its lowest, 19,817 1000 ha, in 1990.
South Africa ranks 33rd of 249 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 36 years of available data.
Forest land — Area in South Africa, year by year
| Year | 1000 ha | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 19,817 1000 ha | — |
| 1991 | 19,904 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 1992 | 19,992 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 1993 | 20,079 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 1994 | 20,167 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 1995 | 20,254 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 1996 | 20,342 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 1997 | 20,430 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 1998 | 20,517 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 1999 | 20,605 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2000 | 20,692 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2001 | 20,780 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2002 | 20,867 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2003 | 20,955 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2004 | 21,042 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2005 | 21,130 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2006 | 21,218 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2007 | 21,305 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2008 | 21,393 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2009 | 21,480 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2010 | 21,568 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2011 | 21,656 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2012 | 21,743 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2013 | 21,831 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2014 | 21,918 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2015 | 22,006 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2016 | 22,093 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2017 | 22,181 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2018 | 22,268 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2019 | 22,356 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2020 | 22,444 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2021 | 22,531 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2022 | 22,619 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2023 | 22,706 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2024 | 22,794 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2025 | 22,881 1000 ha | +0.4% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 22,881 1000 ha is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 2,330 1000 ha, 9.8× the median. (55 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 22,881 1000 ha is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 3,914 1000 ha, 5.8× the median. (45 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 20,211 1000 ha | 19,817 1000 ha | 20,605 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2000s | 21,086 1000 ha | 20,692 1000 ha | 21,480 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2010s | 21,962 1000 ha | 21,568 1000 ha | 22,356 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2020s | 22,662 1000 ha | 22,444 1000 ha | 22,881 1000 ha | 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)
- Wood-based panels — Production, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2024)
- 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)
Frequently asked questions
- What is forest land — area in South Africa?
- Forest land — area in South Africa was 22,881 1000 ha in 2025, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest forest land — area recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 22,881 1000 ha in 2025.
- What is the lowest forest land — area recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 19,817 1000 ha in 1990.
- How does South Africa rank for forest land — area?
- South Africa ranks 33rd out of 249 countries with data for 2025.
- Is forest land — 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, published as part of Forest land — Area. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 36 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO).
About this data
The FAOSTAT Land Use domain contains data on twenty-one land use categories and twenty-three categories of irrigation and agricultural practices. Data are available yearly and by country, regional and global levels. The domain includes Land Use Indicators providing information on the percentage share of agricultural and forest land, and their sub-components, including irrigated areas and areas under organic agriculture, within a country land use matrix. Data are available at country, regional and global level, for the following elements: (in percentage) i) Share in Land area; ii) Share in Agricultural land, iii) Share in Cropland; and iv) Share in Forest land; (in ha/pc) v) Area per capita.