Share of land used for permanent meadows and pastures in South Africa

South Africa: Share of land used for permanent meadows and pastures was 69.19 percent in 2023. ▬ Flat

Latest (2023)
69.19 percent
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
6th
of 208 countries
All-time high
73.49 percent
in 1961
All-time low
67.08 percent
in 1982
Years of data
63
1961–2023

Share of land used for permanent meadows and pastures in South Africa, 1961–2023

020406080196119922023

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in percent.

Analysis

South Africa recorded 69.19 percent for share of land used for permanent meadows and pastures in 2023.

Compared with earlier readings it is unchanged over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of land used for permanent meadows and pastures in South Africa peaked at 73.49 percent in 1961 and was at its lowest, 67.08 percent, in 1982.

That places South Africa 6th out of 208 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top 10%.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s 70.32 percent 68.59 percent 73.49 percent 9
1970s 67.6 percent 67.13 percent 68.4 percent 10
1980s 67.26 percent 67.08 percent 67.84 percent 10
1990s 68.78 percent 68.01 percent 69.19 percent 10
2000s 69.19 percent 69.19 percent 69.19 percent 10
2010s 69.19 percent 69.19 percent 69.19 percent 10
2020s 69.19 percent 69.19 percent 69.19 percent 4

Countries ranked near South Africa

  1. 3 Saudi Arabia 79.08 percent compare
  2. 4 Djibouti 73.34 percent compare
  3. 5 Faroe Islands 70.07 percent compare
  4. 7 Uruguay 68.56 percent compare
  5. 8 Somalia 68.54 percent compare
  6. 9 Kazakhstan 68.33 percent compare

See the full ranking of 210 places →

More reference data data for South Africa

All data for South Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of land used for permanent meadows and pastures in South Africa?
Share of land used for permanent meadows and pastures in South Africa was 69.19 percent in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest share of land used for permanent meadows and pastures recorded in South Africa?
The highest recorded value was 73.49 percent in 1961.
What is the lowest share of land used for permanent meadows and pastures recorded in South Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 67.08 percent in 1982.
How does South Africa rank for share of land used for permanent meadows and pastures?
South Africa ranks 6th out of 208 countries with data for 2023.
Is share of land used for permanent meadows and pastures rising or falling in South Africa?
Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
Where does this South Africa data come from?
The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of land used for permanent meadows and pastures. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 63 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Share of land used for permanent meadows and pastures
Unit
percent
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
210 places, 12,094 data points, 1961–2023
Last refreshed

Permanent meadows and pastures are areas used permanently (five years or more) for herbaceous forage crops, either cultivated or growing wild (wild prairie or grazing land).