Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e) in South Africa
South Africa: Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e) was 93.23 Mt CO2e in 2024. ▲ Rising
Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF in South Africa, 1970–2024
Source: EDGAR (Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research) Community GHG Database, Joint Research Centre (JRC) - European Commission. Measured in Mt CO2e.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 93.23 Mt CO2e for methane (ch4) emissions (total) excluding lulucf in 2024.
That represents a change of up 0.4% on the previous year and down 4.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, methane (ch4) emissions (total) excluding lulucf in South Africa peaked at 99.67 Mt CO2e in 2017 and was at its lowest, 42.58 Mt CO2e, in 1970.
South Africa ranks 19th of 203 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 55 years of available data.
Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e) in South Africa, year by year
| Year | Mt CO2e | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 42.58 Mt CO2e | — |
| 1971 | 43.01 Mt CO2e | +1.0% |
| 1972 | 43.38 Mt CO2e | +0.9% |
| 1973 | 45.05 Mt CO2e | +3.8% |
| 1974 | 46.82 Mt CO2e | +3.9% |
| 1975 | 48.55 Mt CO2e | +3.7% |
| 1976 | 49.87 Mt CO2e | +2.7% |
| 1977 | 51.95 Mt CO2e | +4.2% |
| 1978 | 53.47 Mt CO2e | +2.9% |
| 1979 | 57.14 Mt CO2e | +6.9% |
| 1980 | 58.4 Mt CO2e | +2.2% |
| 1981 | 60.59 Mt CO2e | +3.7% |
| 1982 | 63.28 Mt CO2e | +4.4% |
| 1983 | 64.68 Mt CO2e | +2.2% |
| 1984 | 67.96 Mt CO2e | +5.1% |
| 1985 | 69.14 Mt CO2e | +1.7% |
| 1986 | 69.71 Mt CO2e | +0.8% |
| 1987 | 70.67 Mt CO2e | +1.4% |
| 1988 | 72.44 Mt CO2e | +2.5% |
| 1989 | 74.14 Mt CO2e | +2.3% |
| 1990 | 75.19 Mt CO2e | +1.4% |
| 1991 | 75.73 Mt CO2e | +0.7% |
| 1992 | 74.42 Mt CO2e | -1.7% |
| 1993 | 76.57 Mt CO2e | +2.9% |
| 1994 | 76.69 Mt CO2e | +0.2% |
| 1995 | 78.61 Mt CO2e | +2.5% |
| 1996 | 79.73 Mt CO2e | +1.4% |
| 1997 | 83.94 Mt CO2e | +5.3% |
| 1998 | 85 Mt CO2e | +1.3% |
| 1999 | 84.68 Mt CO2e | -0.4% |
| 2000 | 82 Mt CO2e | -3.2% |
| 2001 | 82.21 Mt CO2e | +0.3% |
| 2002 | 82.14 Mt CO2e | -0.1% |
| 2003 | 85.69 Mt CO2e | +4.3% |
| 2004 | 86.6 Mt CO2e | +1.1% |
| 2005 | 87.94 Mt CO2e | +1.5% |
| 2006 | 88.12 Mt CO2e | +0.2% |
| 2007 | 90.08 Mt CO2e | +2.2% |
| 2008 | 92.16 Mt CO2e | +2.3% |
| 2009 | 91.53 Mt CO2e | -0.7% |
| 2010 | 92.24 Mt CO2e | +0.8% |
| 2011 | 92.36 Mt CO2e | +0.1% |
| 2012 | 95.98 Mt CO2e | +3.9% |
| 2013 | 96.2 Mt CO2e | +0.2% |
| 2014 | 97.22 Mt CO2e | +1.1% |
| 2015 | 96.04 Mt CO2e | -1.2% |
| 2016 | 94.27 Mt CO2e | -1.8% |
| 2017 | 99.67 Mt CO2e | +5.7% |
| 2018 | 97.1 Mt CO2e | -2.6% |
| 2019 | 96.8 Mt CO2e | -0.3% |
| 2020 | 94.49 Mt CO2e | -2.4% |
| 2021 | 92.71 Mt CO2e | -1.9% |
| 2022 | 92.52 Mt CO2e | -0.2% |
| 2023 | 92.82 Mt CO2e | +0.3% |
| 2024 | 93.23 Mt CO2e | +0.4% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 93.23 Mt CO2e is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 11.97 Mt CO2e, 7.8× the median. (56 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 93.23 Mt CO2e is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 12.79 Mt CO2e, 7.3× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 48.18 Mt CO2e | 42.58 Mt CO2e | 57.14 Mt CO2e | 10 |
| 1980s | 67.1 Mt CO2e | 58.4 Mt CO2e | 74.14 Mt CO2e | 10 |
| 1990s | 79.06 Mt CO2e | 74.42 Mt CO2e | 85 Mt CO2e | 10 |
| 2000s | 86.85 Mt CO2e | 82 Mt CO2e | 92.16 Mt CO2e | 10 |
| 2010s | 95.79 Mt CO2e | 92.24 Mt CO2e | 99.67 Mt CO2e | 10 |
| 2020s | 93.16 Mt CO2e | 92.52 Mt CO2e | 94.49 Mt CO2e | 5 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More environment data for South Africa
- Grazing land use over the long-term, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Grazing land use over the long-term, per unit of GDP 0.0002 hectares per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Grazing land use over the long-term, per capita 1.3 hectares per person (2025)
- 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)
- Grazing land use over the long-term, per square kilometre 69.19 hectares per square kilometre (2024)
- Sawnwood, coniferous — Production, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is methane (ch4) emissions (total) excluding lulucf in South Africa?
- Methane (ch4) emissions (total) excluding lulucf in South Africa was 93.23 Mt CO2e in 2024, according to EDGAR (Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research) Community GHG Database, Joint Research Centre (JRC) - European Commission.
- What is the highest methane (ch4) emissions (total) excluding lulucf recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 99.67 Mt CO2e in 2017.
- What is the lowest methane (ch4) emissions (total) excluding lulucf recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 42.58 Mt CO2e in 1970.
- How does South Africa rank for methane (ch4) emissions (total) excluding lulucf?
- South Africa ranks 19th out of 203 countries with data for 2024.
- Is methane (ch4) emissions (total) excluding lulucf rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 4.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from EDGAR (Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research) Community GHG Database, Joint Research Centre (JRC) - European Commission, published as part of Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 55 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
A measure of annual emissions of methane (CH4), one of the six Kyoto greenhouse gases (GHG), from the agriculture, energy, waste, and industrial sectors, excluding LULUCF. The measure is standardized to carbon dioxide equivalent values using the Global Warming Potential (GWP) factors of IPCC's 5th Assessment Report (AR5).