Total greenhouse gas emissions including LULUCF in South Africa
South Africa: Total greenhouse gas emissions including LULUCF was 498.74 Mt CO2e in 2023. ▲ Rising
Total greenhouse gas emissions including LULUCF in South Africa, 2000–2023
Source: EDGAR (Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research) Community GHG Database. Measured in Mt CO2e.
Analysis
In 2023, total greenhouse gas emissions including lulucf in South Africa stood at 498.74 Mt CO2e.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.1% on the previous year and down 9.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, total greenhouse gas emissions including lulucf in South Africa peaked at 589.76 Mt CO2e in 2018 and was at its lowest, 409.12 Mt CO2e, in 2000.
South Africa ranks 16th of 176 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 24 years of available data.
Total greenhouse gas emissions including LULUCF in South Africa, year by year
| Year | Mt CO2e | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 409.12 Mt CO2e | — |
| 2001 | 430.25 Mt CO2e | +5.2% |
| 2002 | 446.73 Mt CO2e | +3.8% |
| 2003 | 457.79 Mt CO2e | +2.5% |
| 2004 | 500.85 Mt CO2e | +9.4% |
| 2005 | 534.83 Mt CO2e | +6.8% |
| 2006 | 533.86 Mt CO2e | -0.2% |
| 2007 | 545.39 Mt CO2e | +2.2% |
| 2008 | 588.88 Mt CO2e | +8.0% |
| 2009 | 538.31 Mt CO2e | -8.6% |
| 2010 | 555.3 Mt CO2e | +3.2% |
| 2011 | 528.75 Mt CO2e | -4.8% |
| 2012 | 547.67 Mt CO2e | +3.6% |
| 2013 | 551.6 Mt CO2e | +0.7% |
| 2014 | 573.08 Mt CO2e | +3.9% |
| 2015 | 570.62 Mt CO2e | -0.4% |
| 2016 | 550.53 Mt CO2e | -3.5% |
| 2017 | 584.38 Mt CO2e | +6.1% |
| 2018 | 589.76 Mt CO2e | +0.9% |
| 2019 | 567.62 Mt CO2e | -3.8% |
| 2020 | 529.67 Mt CO2e | -6.7% |
| 2021 | 538.34 Mt CO2e | +1.6% |
| 2022 | 499.37 Mt CO2e | -7.2% |
| 2023 | 498.74 Mt CO2e | -0.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 498.6 Mt CO2e | 409.12 Mt CO2e | 588.88 Mt CO2e | 10 |
| 2010s | 561.93 Mt CO2e | 528.75 Mt CO2e | 589.76 Mt CO2e | 10 |
| 2020s | 516.53 Mt CO2e | 498.74 Mt CO2e | 538.34 Mt CO2e | 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)
- Paper and paperboard — Import value, per unit of GDP 0 1000 USD per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Paper and paperboard — Import value, per capita 0.0126 1000 USD per person (2024)
- Graphic papers — Import quantity, annual growth rate 42.65 % change on previous year (2024)
- Graphic papers — Import quantity, per unit of GDP 0 t per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Graphic papers — Import quantity, per capita 0.0047 t per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is total greenhouse gas emissions including lulucf in South Africa?
- Total greenhouse gas emissions including lulucf in South Africa was 498.74 Mt CO2e in 2023, according to EDGAR (Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research) Community GHG Database.
- What is the highest total greenhouse gas emissions including lulucf recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 589.76 Mt CO2e in 2018.
- What is the lowest total greenhouse gas emissions including lulucf recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 409.12 Mt CO2e in 2000.
- How does South Africa rank for total greenhouse gas emissions including lulucf?
- South Africa ranks 16th out of 176 countries with data for 2023.
- Is total greenhouse gas emissions including lulucf rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 9.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from EDGAR (Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research) Community GHG Database, published as part of Total greenhouse gas emissions including LULUCF (Mt CO2e). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 24 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
A measure of annual emissions of the six greenhouse gases (GHG) covered by the Kyoto Protocol (carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and sulphur hexafluoride (SF6)) from the energy, industry, waste, agriculture, and land use, land use changes, and forestry (LULUCF) sectors, standardized to carbon dioxide equivalent values. The measure is standardized to carbon dioxide equivalent values using the Global Warming Potential (GWP) factors of IPCC's 5th Assessment Report (AR5).