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 78th of 184 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% |
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
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)
- Graphic papers — Import quantity, annual growth rate 42.65 % change on previous year (2024)
- Graphic papers — Import quantity, per unit of GDP 0 t per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Graphic papers — Import quantity, per capita 0.0047 t per person (2024)
- Graphic papers — Import value, annual growth rate 21.86 % change on previous year (2024)
- Graphic papers — Import value, per unit of GDP 0 1000 USD per US$ of GDP (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 78th out of 184 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.