Land cover and land cover change — Grassland in South Africa

South Africa: Land cover and land cover change — Grassland was 218,130 Square kilometres in 2022. ▬ Flat

Latest (2022)
218,130 Square kilometres
Change on year
down 0.3%
World rank
13th
of 207 countries
All-time high
221,333 Square kilometres
in 2005
All-time low
218,130 Square kilometres
in 2022
Years of data
6
2000–2022

Land cover and land cover change — Grassland in South Africa, 2000–2022

050.0k100.0k150.0k200.0k2000201120222000: 221.0k Square kilometres2005: 221.3k Square kilometres2010: 220.5k Square kilometres2015: 220.2k Square kilometres2020: 218.7k Square kilometres2022: 218.1k Square kilometres

Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Square kilometres.

Analysis

In 2022, land cover and land cover change — grassland in South Africa stood at 218,130 Square kilometres. That is the lowest value across all 6 years on record.

That represents a change of down 0.3% on the previous year and down 1.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, land cover and land cover change — grassland in South Africa peaked at 221,333 Square kilometres in 2005 and was at its lowest, 218,130 Square kilometres, in 2022.

That places South Africa 13th out of 207 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the top 10%.

Land cover and land cover change — Grassland in South Africa, year by year

Annual values for Land cover and land cover change — Grassland in South Africa, 2000 to 2022.
Year Square kilometres Change
2000 221,043 Square kilometres
2005 221,333 Square kilometres +0.1%
2010 220,524 Square kilometres -0.4%
2015 220,241 Square kilometres -0.1%
2020 218,687 Square kilometres -0.7%
2022 218,130 Square kilometres -0.3%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 221,188 Square kilometres 221,043 Square kilometres 221,333 Square kilometres 2
2010s 220,382 Square kilometres 220,241 Square kilometres 220,524 Square kilometres 2
2020s 218,408 Square kilometres 218,130 Square kilometres 218,687 Square kilometres 2

Countries ranked near South Africa

  1. 10 Mongolia 324,859 Square kilometres compare
  2. 11 Canada 243,318 Square kilometres compare
  3. 12 Afghanistan 236,752 Square kilometres compare
  4. 14 Pakistan 169,880 Square kilometres compare
  5. 15 Angola 163,864 Square kilometres compare
  6. 16 Venezuela 162,424 Square kilometres compare

See the full ranking of 1053 places →

More environment data for South Africa

All data for South Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is land cover and land cover change — grassland in South Africa?
Land cover and land cover change — grassland in South Africa was 218,130 Square kilometres in 2022, according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
What is the highest land cover and land cover change — grassland recorded in South Africa?
The highest recorded value was 221,333 Square kilometres in 2005.
What is the lowest land cover and land cover change — grassland recorded in South Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 218,130 Square kilometres in 2022.
How does South Africa rank for land cover and land cover change — grassland?
South Africa ranks 13th out of 207 countries with data for 2022.
Is land cover and land cover change — grassland rising or falling in South Africa?
Over the last ten years it is down 1.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
Where does this South 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 — Grassland. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Land cover and land cover change — Grassland in South Africa. Statizoid, drawing on Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Retrieved 02 September 2026, from https://environment.statizoid.com/stat/land-cover-and-land-cover-change-grassland/south-africa/

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About this data

Indicator
Land cover and land cover change — Grassland
Unit
Square kilometres
Source
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Licence
OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required)
Coverage
1,053 places, 6,318 data points, 2000–2022
Last refreshed

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