What is emissions of air pollutants in South Africa?

Emissions of air pollutants in South Africa was 1.86 million tonnes in 2022, according to Hoesly et al. (2024) - Community Emissions Data System (CEDS) – with major processing by Our World in Data.

What is the highest emissions of air pollutants recorded in South Africa?

The highest recorded value was 2.33 million tonnes in 2014.

What is the lowest emissions of air pollutants recorded in South Africa?

The lowest recorded value was 232.07 tonnes in 1750.

How does South Africa rank for emissions of air pollutants?

South Africa ranks 11th out of 220 countries with data for 2022.

Is emissions of air pollutants rising or falling in South Africa?

Over the last ten years it is down 18.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.

Where does this South Africa data come from?

The figures come from Hoesly et al. (2024) - Community Emissions Data System (CEDS) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Emissions of air pollutants. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Emissions of air pollutants in South Africa

Name: Emissions of air pollutants in South Africa
Creator: Hoesly et al. (2024) - Community Emissions Data System (CEDS) – with major processing by Our World in Data
License: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)

South Africa: Emissions of air pollutants was 1.86 million tonnes in 2022. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2022)

1.86 million tonnes

Change on year

down 1.5%

World rank

11th

of 220 countries

All-time high

2.33 million tonnes

in 2014

All-time low

232.07 tonnes

in 1750

Years of data

273

1750–2022

Emissions of air pollutants in South Africa, 1750–2022

Source: Hoesly et al. (2024) - Community Emissions Data System (CEDS) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.

Analysis

The most recent figure for emissions of air pollutants in South Africa is 1.86 million tonnes, measured in 2022.

The figure is down 1.5% on the previous year and down 18.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, emissions of air pollutants in South Africa peaked at 2.33 million tonnes in 2014 and was at its lowest, 232.07 tonnes, in 1750.

South Africa ranks 11th of 220 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1750s	235.47 tonnes	232.07 tonnes	238.85 tonnes	10
1760s	243.29 tonnes	239.6 tonnes	246.97 tonnes	10
1770s	251.81 tonnes	247.78 tonnes	255.83 tonnes	10
1780s	261.14 tonnes	256.72 tonnes	265.55 tonnes	10
1790s	271.39 tonnes	266.52 tonnes	276.24 tonnes	10
1800s	283.44 tonnes	277.31 tonnes	289.57 tonnes	10
1810s	303.47 tonnes	290.93 tonnes	315.99 tonnes	10
1820s	333.15 tonnes	318.77 tonnes	347.51 tonnes	10
1830s	367.25 tonnes	350.69 tonnes	383.77 tonnes	10
1840s	406.55 tonnes	387.43 tonnes	425.62 tonnes	10
1850s	564.39 tonnes	454.39 tonnes	677.2 tonnes	10
1860s	830.09 tonnes	703.07 tonnes	962.19 tonnes	10
1870s	1,272 tonnes	992.54 tonnes	1,563 tonnes	10
1880s	1,919 tonnes	1,631 tonnes	2,335 tonnes	10
1890s	8,390 tonnes	2,720 tonnes	14,988 tonnes	10
1900s	23,835 tonnes	7,673 tonnes	39,458 tonnes	10
1910s	56,434 tonnes	44,427 tonnes	70,201 tonnes	10
1920s	89,633 tonnes	69,992 tonnes	102,638 tonnes	10
1930s	111,651 tonnes	83,444 tonnes	145,128 tonnes	10
1940s	195,923 tonnes	151,453 tonnes	227,714 tonnes	10
1950s	322,994 tonnes	255,122 tonnes	383,425 tonnes	10
1960s	460,756 tonnes	382,666 tonnes	528,069 tonnes	10
1970s	988,337 tonnes	559,040 tonnes	1.08 million tonnes	10
1980s	1.21 million tonnes	1.14 million tonnes	1.30 million tonnes	10
1990s	1.59 million tonnes	1.42 million tonnes	1.79 million tonnes	10
2000s	2.08 million tonnes	1.71 million tonnes	2.28 million tonnes	10
2010s	2.24 million tonnes	2.15 million tonnes	2.33 million tonnes	10
2020s	1.88 million tonnes	1.86 million tonnes	1.90 million tonnes	3

Countries ranked near South Africa

8 Saudi Arabia 2.69 million tonnes compare
9 Japan 2.07 million tonnes compare
10 United Arab Emirates 2.06 million tonnes compare
12 Iran 1.74 million tonnes compare
13 Pakistan 1.68 million tonnes compare
14 South Korea 1.63 million tonnes compare

See the full ranking of 220 places →

More environment data for South Africa

Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 569.81 Mt CO2e (2024)
Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 8.9 t CO2e/capita (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 25.85 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 1.31 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 40 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.1686 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 93.23 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.055 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.1946 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 25.44 Mt CO2e (2024)

All data for South Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is emissions of air pollutants in South Africa?: Emissions of air pollutants in South Africa was 1.86 million tonnes in 2022, according to Hoesly et al. (2024) - Community Emissions Data System (CEDS) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest emissions of air pollutants recorded in South Africa?: The highest recorded value was 2.33 million tonnes in 2014.
What is the lowest emissions of air pollutants recorded in South Africa?: The lowest recorded value was 232.07 tonnes in 1750.
How does South Africa rank for emissions of air pollutants?: South Africa ranks 11th out of 220 countries with data for 2022.
Is emissions of air pollutants rising or falling in South Africa?: Over the last ten years it is down 18.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this South Africa data come from?: The figures come from Hoesly et al. (2024) - Community Emissions Data System (CEDS) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Emissions of air pollutants. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 273 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator: Emissions of air pollutants
Unit: tonnes
Source: Hoesly et al. (2024) - Community Emissions Data System (CEDS) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 220 places, 60,060 data points, 1750–2022
Last refreshed: 07 August 2026

Nitrogen oxides (NOₓ) are gases that are mainly formed during the burning of fossil fuels. Exposure to NOₓ gases can have negative impacts on respiratory health. NOₓ gases can also lead to the formation of ozone – another air pollutant.