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 33rd out of 36 groups with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 36 years of available data.
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
- Land area equipped for irrigation — Share in Cropland 18.04 % (2024)
- Land area equipped for irrigation — Area 2,240 1000 ha (2024)
- Inland waters — Area 600 1000 ha (2024)
- Permanent meadows and pastures — Share in Land area 69.19 % (2024)
- Permanent meadows and pastures — Share in Agricultural land 87.12 % (2024)
- Permanent meadows and pastures — Area 83,928 1000 ha (2024)
- Permanent crops — Share in Agricultural land 0.43 % (2024)
- Permanent crops — Area 413 1000 ha (2024)
- Arable land — Share in Agricultural land 12.46 % (2024)
- Arable land — Area 12,000 1000 ha (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 33rd out of 36 groups 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.