Deforestation driven by agricultural expansion and forest plantations in South Africa
South Africa: Deforestation driven by agricultural expansion and forest plantations was 3,695 in 2023. ▲ Rising
Deforestation driven by agricultural expansion and forest plantations in South Africa, 2001–2023
Source: Singh et al. (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 3,695 for deforestation driven by agricultural expansion and forest plantations in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 23 years on record.
That represents a change of down 17.2% on the previous year and down 47.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, deforestation driven by agricultural expansion and forest plantations in South Africa peaked at 10,230 in 2017 and was at its lowest, 3,695, in 2023.
That places South Africa 52nd out of 176 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 23 years of available data.
Deforestation driven by agricultural expansion and forest plantations in South Africa, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 6,876 | — |
| 2002 | 3,753 | -45.4% |
| 2003 | 5,343 | +42.4% |
| 2004 | 7,436 | +39.2% |
| 2005 | 6,101 | -18.0% |
| 2006 | 7,435 | +21.9% |
| 2007 | 6,915 | -7.0% |
| 2008 | 5,877 | -15.0% |
| 2009 | 5,697 | -3.1% |
| 2010 | 4,352 | -23.6% |
| 2011 | 5,517 | +26.8% |
| 2012 | 6,182 | +12.1% |
| 2013 | 7,040 | +13.9% |
| 2014 | 9,054 | +28.6% |
| 2015 | 6,761 | -25.3% |
| 2016 | 9,917 | +46.7% |
| 2017 | 10,230 | +3.2% |
| 2018 | 8,548 | -16.4% |
| 2019 | 6,768 | -20.8% |
| 2020 | 7,310 | +8.0% |
| 2021 | 6,191 | -15.3% |
| 2022 | 4,462 | -27.9% |
| 2023 | 3,695 | -17.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 6,159 | 3,753 | 7,436 | 9 |
| 2010s | 7,437 | 4,352 | 10,230 | 10 |
| 2020s | 5,415 | 3,695 | 7,310 | 4 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More agriculture & rural data for South Africa
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 7.11 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0283 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 186.56 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 0.812 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.3618 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 2.8% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 2.8% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 2.0% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.0% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is deforestation driven by agricultural expansion and forest plantations in South Africa?
- Deforestation driven by agricultural expansion and forest plantations in South Africa was 3,695 in 2023, according to Singh et al. (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest deforestation driven by agricultural expansion and forest plantations recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 10,230 in 2017.
- What is the lowest deforestation driven by agricultural expansion and forest plantations recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 3,695 in 2023.
- How does South Africa rank for deforestation driven by agricultural expansion and forest plantations?
- South Africa ranks 52nd out of 176 countries with data for 2023.
- Is deforestation driven by agricultural expansion and forest plantations rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 47.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from Singh et al. (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Deforestation driven by agricultural expansion and forest plantations. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 23 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
The estimated area deforested to clear land for agricultural production or forest plantations. This is measured in hectares.