Land cover and land cover change — Gain of artificial surfaces in Southern Africa
Southern Africa: Land cover and land cover change — Gain of artificial surfaces was 7,479 Square kilometres in 2022. ◆ Volatile
Land cover and land cover change — Gain of artificial surfaces in Southern Africa, 2005–2022
Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Square kilometres.
Analysis
The most recent figure for land cover and land cover change — gain of artificial surfaces in Southern Africa is 7,479 Square kilometres, measured in 2022. That is the highest value across all 5 years on record.
That represents a change of up 8.6% on the previous year and up 236.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, land cover and land cover change — gain of artificial surfaces in Southern Africa peaked at 7,479 Square kilometres in 2022 and was at its lowest, 1,259 Square kilometres, in 2005.
Southern Africa ranks 13th of 56 groups on this measure, in the top quarter.
Land cover and land cover change — Gain of artificial surfaces in Southern Africa, year by year
| Year | Square kilometres | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 1,259 Square kilometres | — |
| 2010 | 2,226 Square kilometres | +76.8% |
| 2015 | 3,608 Square kilometres | +62.1% |
| 2020 | 6,890 Square kilometres | +90.9% |
| 2022 | 7,479 Square kilometres | +8.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 1,259 Square kilometres | 1,259 Square kilometres | 1,259 Square kilometres | 1 |
| 2010s | 2,917 Square kilometres | 2,226 Square kilometres | 3,608 Square kilometres | 2 |
| 2020s | 7,185 Square kilometres | 6,890 Square kilometres | 7,479 Square kilometres | 2 |
Countries ranked near Southern Africa
- 10 France 8,076 Square kilometres compare
- 11 Nigeria 7,134 Square kilometres compare
- 12 Indonesia 6,849 Square kilometres compare
- 13 South Africa 6,405 Square kilometres compare
- 14 Italy 5,261 Square kilometres compare
- 15 Uzbekistan 4,990 Square kilometres compare
- 16 Pakistan 4,902 Square kilometres compare
More environment data for Southern Africa
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 7.61 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 4.17 Percentage change (2025)
- Temperature change 0.892 °C (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.282 °C (2025)
- Industrial roundwood — Export quantity 427,327 m3 (2024)
- Industrial roundwood, non-coniferous — Production 9.63 million m3 (2024)
- Industrial roundwood — Import value 35,013 1000 USD (2024)
- Industrial roundwood — Import quantity 161,260 m3 (2024)
- Industrial roundwood — Production 17.26 million m3 (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is land cover and land cover change — gain of artificial surfaces in Southern Africa?
- Land cover and land cover change — gain of artificial surfaces in Southern Africa was 7,479 Square kilometres in 2022, according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
- What is the highest land cover and land cover change — gain of artificial surfaces recorded in Southern Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 7,479 Square kilometres in 2022.
- What is the lowest land cover and land cover change — gain of artificial surfaces recorded in Southern Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 1,259 Square kilometres in 2005.
- How does Southern Africa rank for land cover and land cover change — gain of artificial surfaces?
- Southern Africa ranks 13th out of 56 groups with data for 2022.
- Is land cover and land cover change — gain of artificial surfaces rising or falling in Southern Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 236.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Southern Africa data come from?
- The figures come from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as part of Land cover and land cover change — Gain of artificial surfaces. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
The land cover dataset provides a global assessment of land cover and land cover change to monitor pressures on ecosystems and biodiversity. By using geospatial data with high spatio-temporal resolution, it develops a set of internationally comparable indicators with a long time series and a five-year interval from 2000 to 2022 for the Climate Change Initiative Land Cover dataset, and from 1975 to 2030 for the Global Human Settlement Layer dataset. Please see the working paper for a more complete description of the methods. The dataset has a global coverage on the national level, while on the sub-national TL2 level (i.e. large subnational regions) results are reported for all OECD countries as well as for Argentina, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia and South Africa. The following country aggregates are included: Euro area, European Union, Advanced economies, Emerging market economies, G7, G20, OECD, OECD Europe, OECD Asia Oceania, OECD Americas, the LAC region and the World. Data source(s): Climate Change Initiative land cover data and Global Human Settlement Layer built-up area data. Contact: ENV.Stat@oecd.org Database documentation