Naturally regenerating forest — Area in South Africa
South Africa: Naturally regenerating forest — Area was 20,458 1000 ha in 2025. ▲ Rising
Naturally regenerating forest — Area in South Africa, 1990–2025
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in 1000 ha.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 20,458 1000 ha for naturally regenerating forest — area in 2025. That is the highest value across all 36 years on record.
The figure is up 0.4% on the previous year and up 3.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, naturally regenerating forest — area in South Africa peaked at 20,458 1000 ha in 2025 and was at its lowest, 17,901 1000 ha, in 1990.
That places South Africa 35th out of 240 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 36 years of available data.
Naturally regenerating forest — Area in South Africa, year by year
| Year | 1000 ha | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 17,901 1000 ha | — |
| 1991 | 17,974 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 1992 | 18,047 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 1993 | 18,120 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 1994 | 18,194 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 1995 | 18,267 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 1996 | 18,340 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 1997 | 18,413 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 1998 | 18,486 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 1999 | 18,559 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2000 | 18,632 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2001 | 18,705 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2002 | 18,778 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2003 | 18,851 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2004 | 18,924 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2005 | 18,997 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2006 | 19,070 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2007 | 19,143 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2008 | 19,216 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2009 | 19,289 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2010 | 19,362 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2011 | 19,436 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2012 | 19,508 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2013 | 19,582 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2014 | 19,655 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2015 | 19,728 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2016 | 19,801 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2017 | 19,874 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2018 | 19,947 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2019 | 20,020 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2020 | 20,093 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2021 | 20,166 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2022 | 20,239 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2023 | 20,312 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2024 | 20,385 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2025 | 20,458 1000 ha | +0.4% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 20,458 1000 ha is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 2,407 1000 ha, 8.5× the median. (53 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 20,458 1000 ha is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 3,761 1000 ha, 5.4× the median. (45 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 18,230 1000 ha | 17,901 1000 ha | 18,559 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2000s | 18,961 1000 ha | 18,632 1000 ha | 19,289 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2010s | 19,691 1000 ha | 19,362 1000 ha | 20,020 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2020s | 20,276 1000 ha | 20,093 1000 ha | 20,458 1000 ha | 6 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
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)
- Wood-based panels — Production, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 2.59 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), annual growth rate 0.2953 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is naturally regenerating forest — area in South Africa?
- Naturally regenerating forest — area in South Africa was 20,458 1000 ha in 2025, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest naturally regenerating forest — area recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 20,458 1000 ha in 2025.
- What is the lowest naturally regenerating forest — area recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 17,901 1000 ha in 1990.
- How does South Africa rank for naturally regenerating forest — area?
- South Africa ranks 35th out of 240 countries with data for 2025.
- Is naturally regenerating forest — area rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 3.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Naturally regenerating forest — Area. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 36 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO).
About this data
The FAOSTAT Land Use domain contains data on twenty-one land use categories and twenty-three categories of irrigation and agricultural practices. Data are available yearly and by country, regional and global levels. The domain includes Land Use Indicators providing information on the percentage share of agricultural and forest land, and their sub-components, including irrigated areas and areas under organic agriculture, within a country land use matrix. Data are available at country, regional and global level, for the following elements: (in percentage) i) Share in Land area; ii) Share in Agricultural land, iii) Share in Cropland; and iv) Share in Forest land; (in ha/pc) v) Area per capita.