Land cover and land cover change — Loss of cropland in South Africa
South Africa: Land cover and land cover change — Loss of cropland was 3,204 Square kilometres in 2022. ▲ Rising
Land cover and land cover change — Loss of cropland in South Africa, 2005–2022
Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Square kilometres.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 3,204 Square kilometres for land cover and land cover change — loss of cropland in 2022. That is the highest value across all 5 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 11.5% on the previous year and up 69.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, land cover and land cover change — loss of cropland in South Africa peaked at 3,204 Square kilometres in 2022 and was at its lowest, 1,234 Square kilometres, in 2005.
That places South Africa 59th out of 169 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the middle of the range.
Land cover and land cover change — Loss of cropland in South Africa, year by year
| Year | Square kilometres | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 1,234 Square kilometres | — |
| 2010 | 1,896 Square kilometres | +53.7% |
| 2015 | 2,294 Square kilometres | +21.0% |
| 2020 | 2,873 Square kilometres | +25.2% |
| 2022 | 3,204 Square kilometres | +11.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 1,234 Square kilometres | 1,234 Square kilometres | 1,234 Square kilometres | 1 |
| 2010s | 2,095 Square kilometres | 1,896 Square kilometres | 2,294 Square kilometres | 2 |
| 2020s | 3,039 Square kilometres | 2,873 Square kilometres | 3,204 Square kilometres | 2 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
- 56 Algeria 3,715 Square kilometres compare
- 57 Cabo Verde 4.89 Square kilometres compare
- 57 Democratic Republic of the Congo 27,282 Square kilometres compare
- 57 Peru 3,511 Square kilometres compare
- 58 Bangladesh 3,212 Square kilometres compare
- 60 Türkiye 21,809 Square kilometres compare
- 60 Paraguay 3,188 Square kilometres compare
- 61 Costa Rica 3,170 Square kilometres compare
- 62 Nicaragua 3,157 Square kilometres 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)
- Land area equipped for irrigation — Area, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2024)
- Value Added (Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing) — Value Standard 16.61 % change on previous year (2024)
- Value Added (Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing) — Value Standard 0.0032 million SLC per person (2024)
- Value Added (Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing) — Value US$, annual 17.38 % change on previous year (2024)
- Value Added (Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing) — Value US$, per unit 0 million USD per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is land cover and land cover change — loss of cropland in South Africa?
- Land cover and land cover change — loss of cropland in South Africa was 3,204 Square kilometres in 2022, according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
- What is the highest land cover and land cover change — loss of cropland recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 3,204 Square kilometres in 2022.
- What is the lowest land cover and land cover change — loss of cropland recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 1,234 Square kilometres in 2005.
- How does South Africa rank for land cover and land cover change — loss of cropland?
- South Africa ranks 59th out of 169 countries with data for 2022.
- Is land cover and land cover change — loss of cropland rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 69.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- 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 — Loss of cropland. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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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