Land cover and land cover change — Loss of cropland in Southern Africa
Southern Africa: Land cover and land cover change — Loss of cropland was 5,646 Square kilometres in 2022. ▲ Rising
Land cover and land cover change — Loss of cropland in Southern Africa, 2005–2022
Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Square kilometres.
Analysis
In 2022, land cover and land cover change — loss of cropland in Southern Africa stood at 5,646 Square kilometres. That is the highest value across all 5 years on record.
That represents a change of up 21.2% on the previous year and up 98.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, land cover and land cover change — loss of cropland in Southern Africa peaked at 5,646 Square kilometres in 2022 and was at its lowest, 1,758 Square kilometres, in 2005.
That places Southern Africa 26th out of 57 groups with data for 2022, putting it in the middle of the range.
Land cover and land cover change — Loss of cropland in Southern Africa, year by year
| Year | Square kilometres | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 1,758 Square kilometres | — |
| 2010 | 2,845 Square kilometres | +61.8% |
| 2015 | 3,340 Square kilometres | +17.4% |
| 2020 | 4,658 Square kilometres | +39.4% |
| 2022 | 5,646 Square kilometres | +21.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 1,758 Square kilometres | 1,758 Square kilometres | 1,758 Square kilometres | 1 |
| 2010s | 3,093 Square kilometres | 2,845 Square kilometres | 3,340 Square kilometres | 2 |
| 2020s | 5,152 Square kilometres | 4,658 Square kilometres | 5,646 Square kilometres | 2 |
Countries ranked near Southern Africa
- 23 Germany 9,989 Square kilometres compare
- 24 Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of 9,533 Square kilometres compare
- 25 Thailand 9,447 Square kilometres compare
- 26 Australia 9,334 Square kilometres compare
- 27 Madagascar 4,495 Square kilometres compare
- 27 Philippines 9,297 Square kilometres compare
- 28 Canada 8,874 Square kilometres compare
- 29 Bolivia, Plurinational State of 7,872 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 — loss of cropland in Southern Africa?
- Land cover and land cover change — loss of cropland in Southern Africa was 5,646 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 Southern Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 5,646 Square kilometres in 2022.
- What is the lowest land cover and land cover change — loss of cropland recorded in Southern Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 1,758 Square kilometres in 2005.
- How does Southern Africa rank for land cover and land cover change — loss of cropland?
- Southern Africa ranks 26th out of 57 groups with data for 2022.
- Is land cover and land cover change — loss of cropland rising or falling in Southern Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 98.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- 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 — Loss of cropland. 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