Share of deforestation that is exported in South Africa
South Africa: Share of deforestation that is exported was 10.0% in 2013. ◆ Volatile
Share of deforestation that is exported in South Africa, 2005–2013
Source: Pendrill et al. (2019) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2013, share of deforestation that is exported in South Africa stood at 10.0%. That is the highest value across all 9 years on record.
The figure is up 39.0% on the previous year and up 121.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of deforestation that is exported in South Africa peaked at 10.0% in 2013 and was at its lowest, 2.4%, in 2011.
That places South Africa 50th out of 117 countries with data for 2013, putting it in the middle of the range.
Share of deforestation that is exported in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 4.5% | — |
| 2006 | 3.4% | -25.2% |
| 2007 | 4.1% | +21.4% |
| 2008 | 2.6% | -36.8% |
| 2009 | 2.8% | +8.2% |
| 2010 | 2.6% | -8.7% |
| 2011 | 2.4% | -6.1% |
| 2012 | 7.2% | +198.5% |
| 2013 | 10.0% | +39.0% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 10.0% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 9.7%, 1.0× the median. (38 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 10.0% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 4.5%, 2.2× the median. (41 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 3.5% | 2.6% | 4.5% | 5 |
| 2010s | 5.6% | 2.4% | 10.0% | 4 |
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)
- 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)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of deforestation that is exported in South Africa?
- Share of deforestation that is exported in South Africa was 10.0% in 2013, according to Pendrill et al. (2019) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of deforestation that is exported recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 10.0% in 2013.
- What is the lowest share of deforestation that is exported recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.4% in 2011.
- How does South Africa rank for share of deforestation that is exported?
- South Africa ranks 50th out of 117 countries with data for 2013.
- Is share of deforestation that is exported rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 121.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from Pendrill et al. (2019) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of deforestation that is exported. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 9 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
The share of deforestation that is driven by the production of goods that are exported to other countries.