PM2.5 pollution, population exposed to levels exceeding WHO Interim in South Africa
South Africa: PM2.5 pollution, population exposed to levels exceeding WHO Interim was 6.2% in 2017. ▼ Falling
PM2.5 pollution, population exposed to levels exceeding WHO Interim in South Africa, 1990–2017
Source: Global Burden of Disease Study 2017 (GBD 2017), Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME). Measured in % of total.
Analysis
In 2017, pm2.5 pollution, population exposed to levels exceeding who interim in South Africa stood at 6.2%.
That represents a change of up 1.3% on the previous year and down 59.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, pm2.5 pollution, population exposed to levels exceeding who interim in South Africa peaked at 20.0% in 2010 and was at its lowest, 6.2%, in 2016.
South Africa ranks 67th of 194 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 12 years of available data.
PM2.5 pollution, population exposed to levels exceeding WHO Interim in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % of total | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 12.3% | — |
| 1995 | 13.9% | +12.6% |
| 2000 | 17.0% | +22.1% |
| 2005 | 15.6% | -8.4% |
| 2010 | 20.0% | +28.9% |
| 2011 | 18.2% | -9.4% |
| 2012 | 18.9% | +3.8% |
| 2013 | 16.9% | -10.4% |
| 2014 | 16.4% | -2.6% |
| 2015 | 12.8% | -22.0% |
| 2016 | 6.2% | -52.0% |
| 2017 | 6.2% | +1.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 13.1% | 12.3% | 13.9% | 2 |
| 2000s | 16.3% | 15.6% | 17.0% | 2 |
| 2010s | 14.5% | 6.2% | 20.0% | 8 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
- 64 Bosnia and Herzegovina 13.4% compare
- 65 Kyrgyzstan 12.6% compare
- 66 Peru 11.7% compare
- 68 Israel 6.1% compare
- 69 Lao People's Democratic Republic 4.1% compare
- 70 Thailand 3.2% compare
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)
- Sawnwood, non-coniferous — Production, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2024)
- Sawnwood, non-coniferous — Production, per unit of GDP 0 m3 per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Sawnwood, non-coniferous — Production, per capita 0.002 m3 per person (2024)
- Sawnwood, non-coniferous — Import quantity, annual growth rate -0.3469 % change on previous year (2024)
- Sawnwood, non-coniferous — Import quantity, per unit of GDP 0 m3 per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is pm2.5 pollution, population exposed to levels exceeding who interim in South Africa?
- Pm2.5 pollution, population exposed to levels exceeding who interim in South Africa was 6.2% in 2017, according to Global Burden of Disease Study 2017 (GBD 2017), Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME).
- What is the highest pm2.5 pollution, population exposed to levels exceeding who interim recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 20.0% in 2010.
- What is the lowest pm2.5 pollution, population exposed to levels exceeding who interim recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.2% in 2016.
- How does South Africa rank for pm2.5 pollution, population exposed to levels exceeding who interim?
- South Africa ranks 67th out of 194 countries with data for 2017.
- Is pm2.5 pollution, population exposed to levels exceeding who interim rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 59.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from Global Burden of Disease Study 2017 (GBD 2017), Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), published as part of PM2.5 pollution, population exposed to levels exceeding WHO Interim Target-1 value (% of total). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 12 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Percent of population exposed to ambient concentrations of PM2.5 that exceed the World Health Organization (WHO) Interim Target 1 (IT-1) is defined as the portion of a country’s population living in places where mean annual concentrations of PM2.5 are greater than 35 micrograms per cubic meter. The Air Quality Guideline (AQG) of 10 micrograms per cubic meter is recommended by the WHO as the lower end of the range of concentrations over which adverse health effects due to PM2.5 exposure have been observed.