South Africa vs Southern Africa: Open shrubland — Burned Area

South Africa
159,213 ha
in 2024
Southern Africa
1.12 million ha
in 2024
South Africa rank
6th
Southern Africa rank
6th

Open shrubland — Burned Area over time

  • South Africa
  • Southern Africa
02.5M5.0M7.5M10.0M12.5M199020072024

How they compare

Southern Africa currently reports 1.12 million ha against 159,213 ha in South Africa, a difference of 965,607 ha.

That makes Southern Africa's figure about 7.1 times South Africa's.

Across all 35 years both countries report, Southern Africa has been ahead every year.

South Africa ranks 6th and Southern Africa ranks 6th of 218 countries.

Southern Africa has averaged higher in every one of the 4 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade South Africa Southern Africa Difference Ahead
1990s 334,184 ha 2.12 million ha 1.79 million ha Southern Africa
2000s 221,127 ha 2.43 million ha 2.21 million ha Southern Africa
2010s 228,166 ha 3.19 million ha 2.96 million ha Southern Africa
2020s 612,702 ha 4.59 million ha 3.97 million ha Southern Africa

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher open shrubland — burned area, South Africa or Southern Africa?
Southern Africa, at 1.12 million ha against 159,213 ha in South Africa as of 2024.
What is the difference in open shrubland — burned area between South Africa and Southern Africa?
965,607 ha, with Southern Africa ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for South Africa and Southern Africa?
35 years are reported by both, from 1990 to 2024.
How do South Africa and Southern Africa rank globally for open shrubland — burned area?
South Africa ranks 6th and Southern Africa ranks 6th of 218 countries.
Where does this data come from?
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as Open shrubland — Burned Area. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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South Africa vs Southern Africa: Open shrubland — Burned Area. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 12 September 2026, from https://climate.statizoid.com/compare/open-shrubland-burned-area-fao-tier-1/south-africa/southern-africa/

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About this data

Indicator
Open shrubland — Burned Area
Unit
ha
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)
Coverage
270 places, 9,224 data points, 1990–2024
Last refreshed

The FAOSTAT domain on Emissions from Fires consists of estimates of methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O) and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions generated from biomass burning in a range of vegetation types and from fires in organic soils.