Planted Forest — Share in Forest land in South Africa
South Africa: Planted Forest — Share in Forest land was 10.59 % in 2025. ▲ Rising
Planted Forest — Share in Forest land in South Africa, 1990–2025
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 92nd of 207 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 36 years of available data.
Planted Forest — Share in Forest land in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 9.66 % | — |
| 1991 | 9.7 % | +0.4% |
| 1992 | 9.73 % | +0.3% |
| 1993 | 9.76 % | +0.3% |
| 1994 | 9.78 % | +0.2% |
| 1995 | 9.81 % | +0.3% |
| 1996 | 9.84 % | +0.3% |
| 1997 | 9.87 % | +0.3% |
| 1998 | 9.9 % | +0.3% |
| 1999 | 9.93 % | +0.3% |
| 2000 | 9.96 % | +0.3% |
| 2001 | 9.99 % | +0.3% |
| 2002 | 10.01 % | +0.2% |
| 2003 | 10.04 % | +0.3% |
| 2004 | 10.07 % | +0.3% |
| 2005 | 10.09 % | +0.2% |
| 2006 | 10.12 % | +0.3% |
| 2007 | 10.15 % | +0.3% |
| 2008 | 10.17 % | +0.2% |
| 2009 | 10.2 % | +0.3% |
| 2010 | 10.23 % | +0.3% |
| 2011 | 10.25 % | +0.2% |
| 2012 | 10.28 % | +0.3% |
| 2013 | 10.3 % | +0.2% |
| 2014 | 10.33 % | +0.3% |
| 2015 | 10.35 % | +0.2% |
| 2016 | 10.38 % | +0.3% |
| 2017 | 10.4 % | +0.2% |
| 2018 | 10.43 % | +0.3% |
| 2019 | 10.45 % | +0.2% |
| 2020 | 10.47 % | +0.2% |
| 2021 | 10.5 % | +0.3% |
| 2022 | 10.52 % | +0.2% |
| 2023 | 10.54 % | +0.2% |
| 2024 | 10.57 % | +0.3% |
| 2025 | 10.59 % | +0.2% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 10.59 % is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 8.72 %, 1.2× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 10.59 % is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 2.91 %, 3.6× the median. (41 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | 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
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 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 92nd out of 207 countries 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
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.