Planted Forest — Share in Forest land in South Africa

South Africa: Planted Forest — Share in Forest land was 10.59 % in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
10.59 %
Change on year
up 0.2%
Rank
9th
of 35 groups
All-time high
10.59 %
in 2025
All-time low
9.66 %
in 1990
Years of data
36
1990–2025

Planted Forest — Share in Forest land in South Africa, 1990–2025

02.557.5101990200720251990: 9.7 %1991: 9.7 %1992: 9.7 %1993: 9.8 %1994: 9.8 %1995: 9.8 %1996: 9.8 %1997: 9.9 %1998: 9.9 %1999: 9.9 %2000: 10 %2001: 10 %2002: 10 %2003: 10 %2004: 10.1 %2005: 10.1 %2006: 10.1 %2007: 10.2 %2008: 10.2 %2009: 10.2 %2010: 10.2 %2011: 10.2 %2012: 10.3 %2013: 10.3 %2014: 10.3 %2015: 10.3 %2016: 10.4 %2017: 10.4 %2018: 10.4 %2019: 10.4 %2020: 10.5 %2021: 10.5 %2022: 10.5 %2023: 10.5 %2024: 10.6 %2025: 10.6 %

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in %.

Analysis

South Africa recorded 10.59 % for planted forest — share in forest land in 2025. That is the highest value across all 36 years on record.

The figure is up 0.2% on the previous year and up 2.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, planted forest — share in forest land in South Africa peaked at 10.59 % in 2025 and was at its lowest, 9.66 %, in 1990.

South Africa ranks 9th of 35 groups on this measure, in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 36 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 9.8 % 9.66 % 9.93 % 10
2000s 10.08 % 9.96 % 10.2 % 10
2010s 10.34 % 10.23 % 10.45 % 10
2020s 10.53 % 10.47 % 10.59 % 6

Countries ranked near South Africa

  1. 6 Bosnia and Herzegovina 94.79 % compare
  2. 7 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 89.51 % compare
  3. 8 Netherlands (Kingdom of the) 88.49 % compare
  4. 9 Ireland 85.91 % compare
  5. 10 Czechia 84.28 % compare
  6. 11 Egypt 82.97 % compare
  7. 12 Iceland 80.47 % compare

See the full ranking of 226 places →

More environment data for South Africa

All data for South Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is planted forest — share in forest land in South Africa?
Planted forest — share in forest land in South Africa was 10.59 % in 2025, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
What is the highest planted forest — share in forest land recorded in South Africa?
The highest recorded value was 10.59 % in 2025.
What is the lowest planted forest — share in forest land recorded in South Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 9.66 % in 1990.
How does South Africa rank for planted forest — share in forest land?
South Africa ranks 9th out of 35 groups with data for 2025.
Is planted forest — share in forest land rising or falling in South Africa?
Over the last ten years it is up 2.3%. 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 Planted Forest — Share in Forest land. 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

Indicator
Planted Forest — Share in Forest land
Unit
%
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)
Coverage
226 places, 7,796 data points, 1990–2025
Last refreshed

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.