Milk production in South Africa
South Africa: Milk production was 3.88 million tonnes in 2024. ▲ Rising
Milk production in South Africa, 1961–2024
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 3.88 million tonnes for milk production in 2024. That is the highest value across all 64 years on record.
The figure is up 1.9% on the previous year and up 16.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, milk production in South Africa peaked at 3.88 million tonnes in 2024 and was at its lowest, 2.12 million tonnes, in 1964.
That places South Africa 37th out of 191 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 64 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 2.58 million tonnes | 2.12 million tonnes | 2.95 million tonnes | 9 |
| 1970s | 2.61 million tonnes | 2.37 million tonnes | 2.91 million tonnes | 10 |
| 1980s | 2.39 million tonnes | 2.20 million tonnes | 2.55 million tonnes | 10 |
| 1990s | 2.65 million tonnes | 2.39 million tonnes | 3.00 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.77 million tonnes | 2.31 million tonnes | 3.04 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.44 million tonnes | 3.11 million tonnes | 3.87 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.83 million tonnes | 3.76 million tonnes | 3.88 million tonnes | 5 |
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 milk production in South Africa?
- Milk production in South Africa was 3.88 million tonnes in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest milk production recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 3.88 million tonnes in 2024.
- What is the lowest milk production recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.12 million tonnes in 1964.
- How does South Africa rank for milk production?
- South Africa ranks 37th out of 191 countries with data for 2024.
- Is milk production rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 16.4%. 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 Milk production. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 64 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Milk represents the raw equivalents of all dairy products including cheese, yoghurt, cream and milk consumed as the final product.