Farm machinery per unit of agricultural land in South Africa
South Africa: Farm machinery per unit of agricultural land was 0.2762 in 2019. ▼ Falling
Farm machinery per unit of agricultural land in South Africa, 1961–2019
Source: USDA Economic Research Service (2021) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for farm machinery per unit of agricultural land in South Africa is 0.2762, measured in 2019.
The figure is up 0.5% on the previous year and up 29.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, farm machinery per unit of agricultural land in South Africa peaked at 0.5273 in 1981 and was at its lowest, 0.17, in 2004.
That places South Africa 94th out of 175 countries with data for 2019, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 59 years of available data.
Farm machinery per unit of agricultural land in South Africa, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 0.3589 | — |
| 1962 | 0.3718 | +3.6% |
| 1963 | 0.3798 | +2.2% |
| 1964 | 0.3894 | +2.5% |
| 1965 | 0.4033 | +3.6% |
| 1966 | 0.4148 | +2.9% |
| 1967 | 0.4272 | +3.0% |
| 1968 | 0.4344 | +1.7% |
| 1969 | 0.4432 | +2.0% |
| 1970 | 0.4525 | +2.1% |
| 1971 | 0.4536 | +0.2% |
| 1972 | 0.4627 | +2.0% |
| 1973 | 0.4705 | +1.7% |
| 1974 | 0.4763 | +1.2% |
| 1975 | 0.4821 | +1.2% |
| 1976 | 0.4952 | +2.7% |
| 1977 | 0.4964 | +0.2% |
| 1978 | 0.4976 | +0.2% |
| 1979 | 0.5018 | +0.8% |
| 1980 | 0.4983 | -0.7% |
| 1981 | 0.5273 | +5.8% |
| 1982 | 0.5219 | -1.0% |
| 1983 | 0.5102 | -2.2% |
| 1984 | 0.5016 | -1.7% |
| 1985 | 0.4961 | -1.1% |
| 1986 | 0.4823 | -2.8% |
| 1987 | 0.4571 | -5.2% |
| 1988 | 0.4382 | -4.1% |
| 1989 | 0.4194 | -4.3% |
| 1990 | 0.4008 | -4.4% |
| 1991 | 0.3836 | -4.3% |
| 1992 | 0.3508 | -8.6% |
| 1993 | 0.3181 | -9.3% |
| 1994 | 0.3305 | +3.9% |
| 1995 | 0.339 | +2.6% |
| 1996 | 0.297 | -12.4% |
| 1997 | 0.258 | -13.1% |
| 1998 | 0.2284 | -11.5% |
| 1999 | 0.1967 | -13.9% |
| 2000 | 0.1876 | -4.6% |
| 2001 | 0.1832 | -2.4% |
| 2002 | 0.1772 | -3.3% |
| 2003 | 0.1725 | -2.6% |
| 2004 | 0.17 | -1.5% |
| 2005 | 0.1759 | +3.4% |
| 2006 | 0.1897 | +7.8% |
| 2007 | 0.2003 | +5.6% |
| 2008 | 0.2087 | +4.2% |
| 2009 | 0.2126 | +1.8% |
| 2010 | 0.2152 | +1.2% |
| 2011 | 0.2244 | +4.3% |
| 2012 | 0.2282 | +1.7% |
| 2013 | 0.2359 | +3.4% |
| 2014 | 0.2467 | +4.6% |
| 2015 | 0.2579 | +4.5% |
| 2016 | 0.265 | +2.7% |
| 2017 | 0.2698 | +1.8% |
| 2018 | 0.2749 | +1.9% |
| 2019 | 0.2762 | +0.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0.4025 | 0.3589 | 0.4432 | 9 |
| 1970s | 0.4789 | 0.4525 | 0.5018 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.4852 | 0.4194 | 0.5273 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.3103 | 0.1967 | 0.4008 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.1878 | 0.17 | 0.2126 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.2494 | 0.2152 | 0.2762 | 10 |
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 farm machinery per unit of agricultural land in South Africa?
- Farm machinery per unit of agricultural land in South Africa was 0.2762 in 2019, according to USDA Economic Research Service (2021) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest farm machinery per unit of agricultural land recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 0.5273 in 1981.
- What is the lowest farm machinery per unit of agricultural land recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.17 in 2004.
- How does South Africa rank for farm machinery per unit of agricultural land?
- South Africa ranks 94th out of 175 countries with data for 2019.
- Is farm machinery per unit of agricultural land rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 29.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from USDA Economic Research Service (2021) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Farm machinery per unit of agricultural land. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 59 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Farm machinery is measured in units of horsepower. This is divided by total agricultural land to give the average machinery use per hectare of agricultural land.