Human caused air pollution exposure in South Africa

South Africa: Human caused air pollution exposure was 21.6 in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
21.6
Change on year
up 3.8%
World rank
52nd
of 240 countries
All-time high
21.8
in 2022
All-time low
18.34
in 1999
Years of data
27
1998–2024

Human caused air pollution exposure in South Africa, 1998–2024

051015201998201120241998: 19.61999: 18.32000: 19.82001: 19.22002: 19.22003: 18.62004: 19.42005: 20.42006: 19.62007: 19.22008: 20.62009: 19.52010: 21.52011: 19.62012: 20.72013: 202014: 20.42015: 20.62016: 18.92017: 20.32018: 20.42019: 20.22020: 19.12021: 19.92022: 21.82023: 20.82024: 21.6

Source: Our World in Data.

Analysis

In 2024, human caused air pollution exposure in South Africa stood at 21.6.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 3.8% on the previous year and up 5.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, human caused air pollution exposure in South Africa peaked at 21.8 in 2022 and was at its lowest, 18.34, in 1999.

South Africa ranks 52nd of 240 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 27 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 18.96 18.34 19.58 2
2000s 19.53 18.56 20.6 10
2010s 20.24 18.86 21.47 10
2020s 20.66 19.15 21.8 5

Countries ranked near South Africa

  1. 49 Togo 22.34 compare
  2. 50 Thailand 22.09 compare
  3. 51 Oman 21.72 compare
  4. 53 South Sudan 20.89 compare
  5. 54 Paraguay 20.65 compare
  6. 55 Ghana 20.57 compare

See the full ranking of 240 places →

More environment data for South Africa

All data for South Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is human caused air pollution exposure in South Africa?
Human caused air pollution exposure in South Africa was 21.6 in 2024, according to Our World in Data.
What is the highest human caused air pollution exposure recorded in South Africa?
The highest recorded value was 21.8 in 2022.
What is the lowest human caused air pollution exposure recorded in South Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 18.34 in 1999.
How does South Africa rank for human caused air pollution exposure?
South Africa ranks 52nd out of 240 countries with data for 2024.
Is human caused air pollution exposure rising or falling in South Africa?
Over the last ten years it is up 5.7%. 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 Human caused air pollution exposure. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 27 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Human caused air pollution exposure
Source
Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
240 places, 6,480 data points, 1998–2024
Last refreshed