Land area equipped for irrigation — Share in Cropland in South Africa
South Africa: Land area equipped for irrigation — Share in Cropland was 18.04 % in 2024. ▲ Rising
Land area equipped for irrigation — Share in Cropland in South Africa, 1961–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for land area equipped for irrigation — share in cropland in South Africa is 18.04 %, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 64 years on record.
The figure is up 31.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, land area equipped for irrigation — share in cropland in South Africa peaked at 18.04 % in 2021 and was at its lowest, 6.63 %, in 1961.
South Africa ranks 94th of 217 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 64 years of available data.
Land area equipped for irrigation — Share in Cropland in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 6.63 % | — |
| 1962 | 6.78 % | +2.3% |
| 1963 | 6.91 % | +1.9% |
| 1964 | 7.04 % | +1.9% |
| 1965 | 7.17 % | +1.8% |
| 1966 | 7.24 % | +1.0% |
| 1967 | 7.39 % | +2.1% |
| 1968 | 7.62 % | +3.1% |
| 1969 | 7.85 % | +3.0% |
| 1970 | 8 % | +1.9% |
| 1971 | 8.13 % | +1.6% |
| 1972 | 8.12 % | -0.1% |
| 1973 | 8.11 % | -0.1% |
| 1974 | 8.1 % | -0.1% |
| 1975 | 8.09 % | -0.1% |
| 1976 | 8.27 % | +2.2% |
| 1977 | 8.42 % | +1.8% |
| 1978 | 8.56 % | +1.7% |
| 1979 | 8.71 % | +1.8% |
| 1980 | 8.93 % | +2.5% |
| 1981 | 8.92 % | -0.1% |
| 1982 | 8.91 % | -0.1% |
| 1983 | 8.91 % | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 8.91 % | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 8.91 % | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 9.3 % | +4.4% |
| 1987 | 9.34 % | +0.4% |
| 1988 | 9.3 % | -0.4% |
| 1989 | 9.23 % | -0.8% |
| 1990 | 9.16 % | -0.8% |
| 1991 | 9.09 % | -0.8% |
| 1992 | 9.2 % | +1.2% |
| 1993 | 9.25 % | +0.5% |
| 1994 | 9.23 % | -0.2% |
| 1995 | 9.8 % | +6.2% |
| 1996 | 10.01 % | +2.1% |
| 1997 | 10.67 % | +6.6% |
| 1998 | 10.56 % | -1.0% |
| 1999 | 10.6 % | +0.4% |
| 2000 | 10.55 % | -0.5% |
| 2001 | 10.65 % | +0.9% |
| 2002 | 10.68 % | +0.3% |
| 2003 | 10.79 % | +1.0% |
| 2004 | 11.07 % | +2.6% |
| 2005 | 11.2 % | +1.2% |
| 2006 | 11.74 % | +4.8% |
| 2007 | 11.77 % | +0.3% |
| 2008 | 11.6 % | -1.4% |
| 2009 | 11.74 % | +1.2% |
| 2010 | 11.86 % | +1.0% |
| 2011 | 12.86 % | +8.4% |
| 2012 | 13.45 % | +4.6% |
| 2013 | 13.57 % | +0.9% |
| 2014 | 13.68 % | +0.8% |
| 2015 | 13.8 % | +0.9% |
| 2016 | 13.91 % | +0.8% |
| 2017 | 14.03 % | +0.9% |
| 2018 | 14.63 % | +4.3% |
| 2019 | 16.82 % | +15.0% |
| 2020 | 17.14 % | +1.9% |
| 2021 | 18.04 % | +5.3% |
| 2022 | 18.04 % | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 18.04 % | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 18.04 % | +0.0% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 18.04 % is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 18.6 %, 97% of the median. (50 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 18.04 % is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 1.63 %, 11.1× the median. (45 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 7.18 % | 6.63 % | 7.85 % | 9 |
| 1970s | 8.25 % | 8 % | 8.71 % | 10 |
| 1980s | 9.07 % | 8.91 % | 9.34 % | 10 |
| 1990s | 9.76 % | 9.09 % | 10.67 % | 10 |
| 2000s | 11.18 % | 10.55 % | 11.77 % | 10 |
| 2010s | 13.86 % | 11.86 % | 16.82 % | 10 |
| 2020s | 17.86 % | 17.14 % | 18.04 % | 5 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
- 91 Philippines 19.16 % compare
- 92 Timor-Leste 18.1 % compare
- 92 East Timor 18.1 % compare
- 95 Cuba 17.94 % compare
- 96 Somalia 17.7 % compare
- 97 Caribbean 17.31 % compare
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)
- Sawnwood, coniferous — Production, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2024)
- 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)
Frequently asked questions
- What is land area equipped for irrigation — share in cropland in South Africa?
- Land area equipped for irrigation — share in cropland in South Africa was 18.04 % in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest land area equipped for irrigation — share in cropland recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 18.04 % in 2021.
- What is the lowest land area equipped for irrigation — share in cropland recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.63 % in 1961.
- How does South Africa rank for land area equipped for irrigation — share in cropland?
- South Africa ranks 94th out of 217 countries with data for 2024.
- Is land area equipped for irrigation — share in cropland rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 31.9%. 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 Land area equipped for irrigation — Share in Cropland. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 64 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.