How have things changed?, per square kilometre in South Africa
South Africa: How have things changed?, per square kilometre was 0.4387 metric tons per square kilometre in 2023. ▼ Falling
Latest (2023)
0.4387 metric tons per square kilometre
Change on year
down 10.7%
World rank
138th
of 215 countries
All-time high
1.82 metric tons per square kilometre
in 1968
All-time low
0.3755 metric tons per square kilometre
in 1996
Years of data
59
1965–2023
How have things changed?, per square kilometre in South Africa, 1965–2023
Source: Statizoid (derived). Measured in metric tons per square kilometre.
Analysis
In 2023, how have things changed?, per square kilometre in South Africa stood at 0.4387 metric tons per square kilometre.
The figure is down 10.7% on the previous year and up 4.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, how have things changed?, per square kilometre in South Africa peaked at 1.82 metric tons per square kilometre in 1968 and was at its lowest, 0.3755 metric tons per square kilometre, in 1996.
That places South Africa 138th out of 215 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 59 years of available data.
How have things changed?, per square kilometre in South Africa, year by year
| Year | metric tons per square kilometre | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1965 | 1.17 metric tons per square kilometre | — |
| 1966 | 1.17 metric tons per square kilometre | +0.1% |
| 1967 | 1.46 metric tons per square kilometre | +24.5% |
| 1968 | 1.82 metric tons per square kilometre | +24.7% |
| 1969 | 1.62 metric tons per square kilometre | -10.9% |
| 1970 | 1.13 metric tons per square kilometre | -30.6% |
| 1971 | 1.06 metric tons per square kilometre | -5.5% |
| 1972 | 1.05 metric tons per square kilometre | -1.7% |
| 1973 | 1.24 metric tons per square kilometre | +18.8% |
| 1974 | 1.27 metric tons per square kilometre | +2.5% |
| 1975 | 1.23 metric tons per square kilometre | -3.6% |
| 1976 | 1.05 metric tons per square kilometre | -14.6% |
| 1977 | 0.9051 metric tons per square kilometre | -13.7% |
| 1978 | 0.9174 metric tons per square kilometre | +1.4% |
| 1979 | 0.8958 metric tons per square kilometre | -2.4% |
| 1980 | 0.7688 metric tons per square kilometre | -14.2% |
| 1981 | 0.7815 metric tons per square kilometre | +1.7% |
| 1982 | 0.7663 metric tons per square kilometre | -1.9% |
| 1983 | 0.8207 metric tons per square kilometre | +7.1% |
| 1984 | 0.6475 metric tons per square kilometre | -21.1% |
| 1985 | 0.7005 metric tons per square kilometre | +8.2% |
| 1986 | 0.7041 metric tons per square kilometre | +0.5% |
| 1987 | 1.21 metric tons per square kilometre | +71.8% |
| 1988 | 1.1 metric tons per square kilometre | -8.8% |
| 1989 | 0.7483 metric tons per square kilometre | -32.1% |
| 1990 | 0.4564 metric tons per square kilometre | -39.0% |
| 1991 | 0.4262 metric tons per square kilometre | -6.6% |
| 1992 | 0.5908 metric tons per square kilometre | +38.6% |
| 1993 | 0.4888 metric tons per square kilometre | -17.3% |
| 1994 | 0.4599 metric tons per square kilometre | -5.9% |
| 1995 | 0.4953 metric tons per square kilometre | +7.7% |
| 1996 | 0.3755 metric tons per square kilometre | -24.2% |
| 1997 | 0.4482 metric tons per square kilometre | +19.4% |
| 1998 | 0.485 metric tons per square kilometre | +8.2% |
| 1999 | 0.5253 metric tons per square kilometre | +8.3% |
| 2000 | 0.5744 metric tons per square kilometre | +9.3% |
| 2001 | 0.6749 metric tons per square kilometre | +17.5% |
| 2002 | 0.6954 metric tons per square kilometre | +3.0% |
| 2003 | 0.7243 metric tons per square kilometre | +4.1% |
| 2004 | 0.786 metric tons per square kilometre | +8.5% |
| 2005 | 0.7061 metric tons per square kilometre | -10.2% |
| 2006 | 0.5434 metric tons per square kilometre | -23.0% |
| 2007 | 0.6029 metric tons per square kilometre | +11.0% |
| 2008 | 0.5783 metric tons per square kilometre | -4.1% |
| 2009 | 0.4561 metric tons per square kilometre | -21.1% |
| 2010 | 0.5713 metric tons per square kilometre | +25.3% |
| 2011 | 0.4789 metric tons per square kilometre | -16.2% |
| 2012 | 0.6563 metric tons per square kilometre | +37.0% |
| 2013 | 0.4219 metric tons per square kilometre | -35.7% |
| 2014 | 0.6069 metric tons per square kilometre | +43.8% |
| 2015 | 0.5264 metric tons per square kilometre | -13.3% |
| 2016 | 0.5505 metric tons per square kilometre | +4.6% |
| 2017 | 0.492 metric tons per square kilometre | -10.6% |
| 2018 | 0.5217 metric tons per square kilometre | +6.0% |
| 2019 | 0.4362 metric tons per square kilometre | -16.4% |
| 2020 | 0.5472 metric tons per square kilometre | +25.5% |
| 2021 | 0.5166 metric tons per square kilometre | -5.6% |
| 2022 | 0.4914 metric tons per square kilometre | -4.9% |
| 2023 | 0.4387 metric tons per square kilometre | -10.7% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 0.4387 metric tons per square kilometre is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.8393 metric tons per square kilometre, 52% of the median. (58 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 0.4387 metric tons per square kilometre is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.4382 metric tons per square kilometre, 1.0× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.45 metric tons per square kilometre | 1.17 metric tons per square kilometre | 1.82 metric tons per square kilometre | 5 |
| 1970s | 1.07 metric tons per square kilometre | 0.8958 metric tons per square kilometre | 1.27 metric tons per square kilometre | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.825 metric tons per square kilometre | 0.6475 metric tons per square kilometre | 1.21 metric tons per square kilometre | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.4752 metric tons per square kilometre | 0.3755 metric tons per square kilometre | 0.5908 metric tons per square kilometre | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.6342 metric tons per square kilometre | 0.4561 metric tons per square kilometre | 0.786 metric tons per square kilometre | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.5262 metric tons per square kilometre | 0.4219 metric tons per square kilometre | 0.6563 metric tons per square kilometre | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.4985 metric tons per square kilometre | 0.4387 metric tons per square kilometre | 0.5472 metric tons per square kilometre | 4 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
- 135 Angola 0.4517 metric tons per square kilometre compare
- 136 Uzbekistan 0.4445 metric tons per square kilometre compare
- 137 Dominican Republic 0.4408 metric tons per square kilometre compare
- 139 Togo 0.4377 metric tons per square kilometre compare
- 140 Moldova 0.4326 metric tons per square kilometre compare
- 141 Sweden 0.4078 metric tons per square kilometre compare
More reference data data for South Africa
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.5111 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 8.71 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 13.63 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.7468 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 13.63 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.71 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 1.49 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 41.1 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 63.65 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 4.07 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is how have things changed?, per square kilometre in South Africa?
- How have things changed?, per square kilometre in South Africa was 0.4387 metric tons per square kilometre in 2023, according to Statizoid (derived).
- What is the highest how have things changed?, per square kilometre recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 1.82 metric tons per square kilometre in 1968.
- What is the lowest how have things changed?, per square kilometre recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.3755 metric tons per square kilometre in 1996.
- How does South Africa rank for how have things changed?, per square kilometre?
- South Africa ranks 138th out of 215 countries with data for 2023.
- Is how have things changed?, per square kilometre rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from Statizoid (derived), published as part of How have things changed?, per square kilometre. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 59 observations, free to reuse under Derived by Statizoid from the sources named on the page.
How this figure is calculated
How have things changed? divided by Land area (sq. km), matched on country and year. Neither publisher issues this ratio as a series; it is computed here from both.
How have things changed? ÷ Land area (sq. km)
Computed from
- How have things changed? Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
- Land area FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Statizoid computes this series; the underlying measurements belong to the publishers named above. The arithmetic is applied to every country and year where both inputs report, and nothing is estimated unless the page says so.
About this data
How have things changed? divided by Land area (sq. km), matched on country and year. Neither publisher issues this ratio as a series; it is computed here from both.