Primary Forest — Area in Southern Africa
Southern Africa: Primary Forest — Area was 449.12 1000 ha in 2025. ▼ Falling
Primary Forest — Area in Southern Africa, 1990–2025
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in 1000 ha.
Analysis
The most recent figure for primary forest — area in Southern Africa is 449.12 1000 ha, measured in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 36 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.2% on the previous year and down 2.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, primary forest — area in Southern Africa peaked at 486.33 1000 ha in 1990 and was at its lowest, 449.12 1000 ha, in 2025.
Southern Africa ranks 29th of 31 groups on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 36 years of available data.
Primary Forest — Area in Southern Africa, year by year
| Year | 1000 ha | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 486.33 1000 ha | — |
| 1991 | 485.27 1000 ha | -0.2% |
| 1992 | 484.2 1000 ha | -0.2% |
| 1993 | 483.14 1000 ha | -0.2% |
| 1994 | 482.08 1000 ha | -0.2% |
| 1995 | 481.02 1000 ha | -0.2% |
| 1996 | 479.95 1000 ha | -0.2% |
| 1997 | 478.89 1000 ha | -0.2% |
| 1998 | 477.83 1000 ha | -0.2% |
| 1999 | 476.76 1000 ha | -0.2% |
| 2000 | 475.7 1000 ha | -0.2% |
| 2001 | 474.64 1000 ha | -0.2% |
| 2002 | 473.57 1000 ha | -0.2% |
| 2003 | 472.51 1000 ha | -0.2% |
| 2004 | 471.45 1000 ha | -0.2% |
| 2005 | 470.39 1000 ha | -0.2% |
| 2006 | 469.32 1000 ha | -0.2% |
| 2007 | 468.26 1000 ha | -0.2% |
| 2008 | 467.2 1000 ha | -0.2% |
| 2009 | 466.13 1000 ha | -0.2% |
| 2010 | 465.07 1000 ha | -0.2% |
| 2011 | 464.01 1000 ha | -0.2% |
| 2012 | 462.95 1000 ha | -0.2% |
| 2013 | 461.88 1000 ha | -0.2% |
| 2014 | 460.82 1000 ha | -0.2% |
| 2015 | 459.76 1000 ha | -0.2% |
| 2016 | 458.7 1000 ha | -0.2% |
| 2017 | 457.63 1000 ha | -0.2% |
| 2018 | 456.57 1000 ha | -0.2% |
| 2019 | 455.5 1000 ha | -0.2% |
| 2020 | 454.44 1000 ha | -0.2% |
| 2021 | 453.38 1000 ha | -0.2% |
| 2022 | 452.31 1000 ha | -0.2% |
| 2023 | 451.25 1000 ha | -0.2% |
| 2024 | 450.18 1000 ha | -0.2% |
| 2025 | 449.12 1000 ha | -0.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 481.55 1000 ha | 476.76 1000 ha | 486.33 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2000s | 470.92 1000 ha | 466.13 1000 ha | 475.7 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2010s | 460.29 1000 ha | 455.5 1000 ha | 465.07 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2020s | 451.78 1000 ha | 449.12 1000 ha | 454.44 1000 ha | 6 |
Countries ranked near Southern Africa
More environment data for Southern Africa
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 4.17 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 7.61 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.282 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 0.892 °C (2025)
- Wood fuel, coniferous — Production 770,000 m3 (2024)
- Roundwood, non-coniferous — Production 27.42 million m3 (2024)
- Wood fuel, non-coniferous — Production 17.80 million m3 (2024)
- Industrial roundwood — Production 17.26 million m3 (2024)
- Industrial roundwood — Import quantity 161,260 m3 (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is primary forest — area in Southern Africa?
- Primary forest — area in Southern Africa was 449.12 1000 ha in 2025, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest primary forest — area recorded in Southern Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 486.33 1000 ha in 1990.
- What is the lowest primary forest — area recorded in Southern Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 449.12 1000 ha in 2025.
- How does Southern Africa rank for primary forest — area?
- Southern Africa ranks 29th out of 31 groups with data for 2025.
- Is primary forest — area rising or falling in Southern Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Southern Africa data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Primary 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.