World 8.2bn peopleGDP $118tnLife expectancy 73.5 yrsOnline 73.6%
NotesAdvertise
World Report nowcountries in numbers
World Report now
  1. Home
  2. Countries
  3. South Africa
  4. Environment
Environment · Sub-Saharan Africa · Upper-middle income

South Africa: environment and emissions

CO₂ per person is 6.88 t (2024), 36th of 203 in the world and 2nd of 47 in Sub-Saharan Africa. GHG per person is 8.90 t (2024), 39th of 203 in the world and 1st of 47 in Sub-Saharan Africa. GHG emissions is 569.8 Mt (2024), 17th of 203 in the world and 1st of 47 in Sub-Saharan Africa.

CO₂ per person6.88 t2024 · world 36/203 · region 2/47GHG per person8.90 t2024 · world 39/203 · region 1/47GHG emissions569.8 Mt2024 · world 17/203 · region 1/47CO₂ emissions440.2 Mt2024 · world 15/203 · region 1/47
CO₂ per person
South AfricaSub-Saharan AfricaUpper-middle incomeWorld
0.02.55.07.510199520002005201020152020South Africa6.88 tSub-Saharan AfricaUpper-middle incomeWorld
GHG per person
South AfricaSub-Saharan AfricaUpper-middle incomeWorld
0.05.01015199520002005201020152020South Africa8.90 tSub-Saharan AfricaUpper-middle incomeWorld
15 indicators

Environment: South Africa in detail

Latest reported value, world rank and rank within Sub-Saharan Africa; values around 2000, 2010, 2020; group and world columns are World Bank aggregates.

IndicatorLatestWorld rankIn region~2000~2010~202010-year changeRegionIncome groupWorldSince 2000
CO₂ per personCO₂ emissions per capita, tonnes6.88 t202436/2032/477.36 t8.87 t7.44 t−21%since 20140.70 t6.38 t4.69 t
GHG per personGreenhouse gas emissions per person, t CO₂e8.90 t202439/2031/479.54 t11.11 t9.53 t−19%since 20141.91 t8.33 t6.36 t
GHG emissionsTotal greenhouse gas emissions excl. land use, Mt CO₂e569.8 Mt202417/2031/47449.7 Mt581.5 Mt577.0 Mt−6.7%since 20142,444.8 Mt25,498.1 Mt53,206.4 Mt
CO₂ emissionsCO₂ emissions, total excl. land use, Mt440.2 Mt202415/2031/47347.3 Mt464.4 Mt450.9 Mt−9.5%since 2014896.3 Mt19,521.7 Mt39,632.7 Mt
MethaneMethane emissions, Mt CO₂e93.2 Mt202419/2033/4782.0 Mt92.2 Mt94.5 Mt−4.1%since 20141,179.9 Mt4,229.1 Mt9,536.5 Mt
Renewable energyRenewable energy, % of final energy consumption9.7%2021147/21245/4816.2%9.4%9.8%+0.7 ppsince 201170.3%16.8%19.7%
Renewable powerRenewable electricity, % of output6.4%2021154/20638/482.0%1.9%6.0%+4.4 ppsince 201132.6%29.3%27.8%
PM2.5 exposurePM2.5 air pollution, mean annual exposure, µg/m³27.7 µg/m³202355/20024/4823.6 µg/m³32.8 µg/m³28.3 µg/m³−2.4%since 201335.4 µg/m³26.7 µg/m³32.9 µg/m³
Forest coverForest area, % of land area18.8%2024134/21430/4817.1%17.8%18.5%+0.7 ppsince 201425.7%29.2%31.1%
FarmlandAgricultural land, % of land area79.4%20248/2104/4880.9%79.9%79.4%±0.0 ppsince 201444.7%42.8%36.9%
Arable landArable land, % of land area9.9%2024105/20629/4811.4%10.3%9.9%±0.0 ppsince 201410.0%9.8%10.7%
Protected areasTerrestrial and marine protected areas, % of territory12.9%202599/21326/48··12.4%+1.2 ppsince 201514.0%12.8%17.0%
Water withdrawalsFreshwater withdrawals, % of internal resources47.1%202232/1776/4728.4%33.2%45.3%+13.0 ppsince 20123.4%8.9%9.0%
Freshwater per personRenewable internal freshwater per person, m³718 m³2022145/18339/47950 m³856 m³740 m³−14%since 20123,162 m³6,090 m³5,393 m³
Cereal yieldCereal yield, kg per hectare4,562 kg/ha202451/1792/462,766 kg/ha4,150 kg/ha5,121 kg/ha−6.9%since 20141,453 kg/ha4,942 kg/ha4,229 kg/ha
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)“·” — no value reported within two years of that date. World rank counts countries with a recent value.

Better than ten years ago

Worse than ten years ago

Only indicators where higher or lower is clearly better are rated (for example, unemployment down is better, life expectancy up is better).

neighbours

South Africa and its neighbours

Countries sharing a land border with South Africa. Latest values since 2005; the highest in each row is marked.

IndicatorSouth AfricaMozambiqueZimbabweNamibiaBotswanaLesotho
CO₂ per person6.88 t20240.29 t20240.77 t20241.20 t20242.74 t20240.43 t2024
GHG per person8.90 t20240.97 t20241.85 t20244.69 t20244.80 t20241.31 t2024
GHG emissions569.8 Mt202433.6 Mt202430.8 Mt202414.2 Mt202412.1 Mt20243.1 Mt2024
CO₂ emissions440.2 Mt202410.1 Mt202412.9 Mt20243.6 Mt20246.9 Mt20241.0 Mt2024
Methane93.2 Mt202418.7 Mt202412.8 Mt20247.8 Mt20243.4 Mt20241.6 Mt2024
Renewable energy9.7%202176.9%202182.4%202130.0%202127.4%202134.9%2022
Renewable power6.4%202182.7%202187.5%202193.4%20210.2%202199.8%2021
PM2.5 exposure27.7 µg/m³202313.7 µg/m³202315.0 µg/m³202314.2 µg/m³202313.2 µg/m³202326.4 µg/m³2023
Forest cover18.8%202441.3%202435.7%20249.8%202427.8%20241.1%2024
Mozambique: environmentZimbabwe: environmentNamibia: environmentBotswana: environmentLesotho: environment
Environment in Sub-Saharan Africaall 48 economies rankedEnvironment: upper-middle-income countries59 economies rankedEnvironment: world leaderboardstop and bottom countriesSouth Africa: all key statisticscountry profile