Insecticide use in South Africa
South Africa: Insecticide use was 9,639 tonnes in 2023. ▲ Rising
Insecticide use in South Africa, 1990–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 9,639 tonnes for insecticide use in 2023.
The figure is down 0.5% on the previous year and up 15.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, insecticide use in South Africa peaked at 9,772 tonnes in 2021 and was at its lowest, 4,069 tonnes, in 1994.
South Africa ranks 14th of 211 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 34 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 4,662 tonnes | 4,069 tonnes | 6,297 tonnes | 10 |
| 2000s | 6,674 tonnes | 6,079 tonnes | 7,583 tonnes | 10 |
| 2010s | 8,422 tonnes | 7,643 tonnes | 9,055 tonnes | 10 |
| 2020s | 9,661 tonnes | 9,548 tonnes | 9,772 tonnes | 4 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More reference data data for South Africa
- Spring temperature anomalies 0.191 °C (2026)
- Summer temperature anomalies 1.36 °C (2026)
- Temperature anomalies by month 0.6318 °C (2026)
- Universal right to vote in practice 2 (2025)
- Autumn temperature anomalies 1.18 °C (2025)
- Winter temperature anomalies 0.2153 °C (2025)
- Consumer price index 209.92 2010 = 100 (2025)
- Universal right to vote 2 (2025)
- Competitive elections 1 (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote 1 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is insecticide use in South Africa?
- Insecticide use in South Africa was 9,639 tonnes 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 insecticide use recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 9,772 tonnes in 2021.
- What is the lowest insecticide use recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 4,069 tonnes in 1994.
- How does South Africa rank for insecticide use?
- South Africa ranks 14th out of 211 countries with data for 2023.
- Is insecticide use rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 15.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- 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 Insecticide use. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 34 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Annual quantity of insecticides used in agriculture, measured as the tonnes of active ingredient per year.