Solid biofuels — Energy production in South Africa
South Africa: Solid biofuels — Energy production was 181,916 TJ in 2024. ▼ Falling
Solid biofuels — Energy production in South Africa, 1990–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in TJ.
Analysis
In 2024, solid biofuels — energy production in South Africa stood at 181,916 TJ.
That represents a change of down 11.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, solid biofuels — energy production in South Africa peaked at 513,312 TJ in 1998 and was at its lowest, 171,627 TJ, in 2016.
South Africa ranks 40th of 192 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 35 years of available data.
Solid biofuels — Energy production in South Africa, year by year
| Year | TJ | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 443,000 TJ | — |
| 1991 | 452,000 TJ | +2.0% |
| 1992 | 460,000 TJ | +1.8% |
| 1993 | 469,000 TJ | +2.0% |
| 1994 | 478,000 TJ | +1.9% |
| 1995 | 488,000 TJ | +2.1% |
| 1996 | 496,296 TJ | +1.7% |
| 1997 | 504,236 TJ | +1.6% |
| 1998 | 513,312 TJ | +1.8% |
| 1999 | 508,924 TJ | -0.9% |
| 2000 | 454,276 TJ | -10.7% |
| 2001 | 425,305 TJ | -6.4% |
| 2002 | 410,097 TJ | -3.6% |
| 2003 | 397,085 TJ | -3.2% |
| 2004 | 387,909 TJ | -2.3% |
| 2005 | 354,088 TJ | -8.7% |
| 2006 | 331,072 TJ | -6.5% |
| 2007 | 326,939 TJ | -1.2% |
| 2008 | 371,611 TJ | +13.7% |
| 2009 | 367,864 TJ | -1.0% |
| 2010 | 227,689 TJ | -38.1% |
| 2011 | 221,563 TJ | -2.7% |
| 2012 | 222,238 TJ | +0.3% |
| 2013 | 221,946 TJ | -0.1% |
| 2014 | 206,018 TJ | -7.2% |
| 2015 | 189,443 TJ | -8.0% |
| 2016 | 171,627 TJ | -9.4% |
| 2017 | 183,135 TJ | +6.7% |
| 2018 | 178,488 TJ | -2.5% |
| 2019 | 194,745 TJ | +9.1% |
| 2020 | 183,204 TJ | -5.9% |
| 2021 | 179,930 TJ | -1.8% |
| 2022 | 177,471 TJ | -1.4% |
| 2023 | 181,916 TJ | +2.5% |
| 2024 | 181,916 TJ | +0.0% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 181,916 TJ is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 8,819 TJ, 20.6× the median. (51 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 181,916 TJ is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 89,896 TJ, 2.0× the median. (44 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Solid biofuels — Energy production in South Africa changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | -38.1% | 367,864 TJ | 227,689 TJ |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 481,277 TJ | 443,000 TJ | 513,312 TJ | 10 |
| 2000s | 382,625 TJ | 326,939 TJ | 454,276 TJ | 10 |
| 2010s | 201,689 TJ | 171,627 TJ | 227,689 TJ | 10 |
| 2020s | 180,887 TJ | 177,471 TJ | 183,204 TJ | 5 |
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 solid biofuels — energy production in South Africa?
- Solid biofuels — energy production in South Africa was 181,916 TJ in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest solid biofuels — energy production recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 513,312 TJ in 1998.
- What is the lowest solid biofuels — energy production recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 171,627 TJ in 2016.
- How does South Africa rank for solid biofuels — energy production?
- South Africa ranks 40th out of 192 countries with data for 2024.
- Is solid biofuels — energy production rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 11.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Solid biofuels — Energy production. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 35 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO).
About this data
The FAOSTAT domain Bioenergy contains data on bioenergy use and bioenergy production, covering the following items: i) animal waste, ii) bagasse, iii) bio jet kerosene, iv) biodiesel, v) biogases, vi) biogasoline, vii) black liquor, viii) charcoal, ix) fuelwood, x) other liquid biofuels, xi) other vegetal material and residues.