Milk production in South Africa
South Africa: Milk production was 3.88 million tonnes in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
3.88 million tonnes
Change on year
up 1.9%
World rank
38th
of 192 countries
All-time high
3.88 million tonnes
in 2024
All-time low
2.12 million tonnes
in 1964
Years of data
64
1961–2024
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 38th out of 192 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.
Milk production in South Africa, year by year
| Year | tonnes | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 2.56 million tonnes | — |
| 1962 | 2.50 million tonnes | -2.1% |
| 1963 | 2.42 million tonnes | -3.5% |
| 1964 | 2.12 million tonnes | -12.5% |
| 1965 | 2.53 million tonnes | +19.6% |
| 1966 | 2.54 million tonnes | +0.6% |
| 1967 | 2.78 million tonnes | +9.3% |
| 1968 | 2.95 million tonnes | +6.1% |
| 1969 | 2.85 million tonnes | -3.4% |
| 1970 | 2.91 million tonnes | +2.2% |
| 1971 | 2.69 million tonnes | -7.7% |
| 1972 | 2.88 million tonnes | +7.4% |
| 1973 | 2.79 million tonnes | -3.2% |
| 1974 | 2.48 million tonnes | -11.2% |
| 1975 | 2.50 million tonnes | +0.9% |
| 1976 | 2.54 million tonnes | +1.6% |
| 1977 | 2.53 million tonnes | -0.4% |
| 1978 | 2.37 million tonnes | -6.3% |
| 1979 | 2.45 million tonnes | +3.4% |
| 1980 | 2.50 million tonnes | +2.0% |
| 1981 | 2.50 million tonnes | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 2.55 million tonnes | +2.0% |
| 1983 | 2.55 million tonnes | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 2.40 million tonnes | -5.9% |
| 1985 | 2.20 million tonnes | -8.3% |
| 1986 | 2.20 million tonnes | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 2.30 million tonnes | +4.5% |
| 1988 | 2.35 million tonnes | +2.2% |
| 1989 | 2.35 million tonnes | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 2.48 million tonnes | +5.3% |
| 1991 | 2.71 million tonnes | +9.3% |
| 1992 | 2.51 million tonnes | -7.4% |
| 1993 | 2.44 million tonnes | -2.7% |
| 1994 | 2.39 million tonnes | -2.2% |
| 1995 | 2.62 million tonnes | +10.0% |
| 1996 | 2.84 million tonnes | +8.2% |
| 1997 | 2.64 million tonnes | -7.1% |
| 1998 | 2.85 million tonnes | +8.1% |
| 1999 | 3.00 million tonnes | +5.1% |
| 2000 | 2.31 million tonnes | -23.0% |
| 2001 | 2.67 million tonnes | +15.8% |
| 2002 | 2.51 million tonnes | -6.1% |
| 2003 | 2.59 million tonnes | +3.4% |
| 2004 | 2.64 million tonnes | +1.9% |
| 2005 | 3.04 million tonnes | +15.3% |
| 2006 | 2.95 million tonnes | -3.1% |
| 2007 | 2.99 million tonnes | +1.3% |
| 2008 | 3.04 million tonnes | +1.8% |
| 2009 | 3.00 million tonnes | -1.5% |
| 2010 | 3.12 million tonnes | +4.2% |
| 2011 | 3.11 million tonnes | -0.5% |
| 2012 | 3.21 million tonnes | +3.4% |
| 2013 | 3.26 million tonnes | +1.4% |
| 2014 | 3.34 million tonnes | +2.4% |
| 2015 | 3.54 million tonnes | +6.0% |
| 2016 | 3.55 million tonnes | +0.3% |
| 2017 | 3.64 million tonnes | +2.6% |
| 2018 | 3.75 million tonnes | +3.0% |
| 2019 | 3.87 million tonnes | +3.2% |
| 2020 | 3.85 million tonnes | -0.5% |
| 2021 | 3.83 million tonnes | -0.7% |
| 2022 | 3.76 million tonnes | -1.6% |
| 2023 | 3.81 million tonnes | +1.2% |
| 2024 | 3.88 million tonnes | +1.9% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 3.88 million tonnes is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 542,686 tonnes, 7.2× the median. (53 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 3.88 million tonnes is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 188,438 tonnes, 20.6× the median. (47 countries reporting)
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
- 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 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 38th out of 192 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.