Agricultural Soils — Direct emissions in South Africa

South Africa: Agricultural Soils — Direct emissions was 32.95 kt in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
32.95 kt
Change on year
down 5.0%
World rank
32nd
of 201 countries
All-time high
36.03 kt
in 2021
All-time low
25.83 kt
in 1966
Years of data
63
1961–2023

Agricultural Soils — Direct emissions in South Africa, 1961–2023

010203040196119922023

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in kt.

Analysis

South Africa recorded 32.95 kt for agricultural soils — direct emissions in 2023.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 5.0% on the previous year and down 4.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, agricultural soils — direct emissions in South Africa peaked at 36.03 kt in 2021 and was at its lowest, 25.83 kt, in 1966.

South Africa ranks 32nd of 201 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.

Agricultural Soils — Direct emissions in South Africa, year by year

Annual values for Agricultural Soils — Direct emissions (N2O) in South Africa, 1961 to 2023.
Year kt Change
1961 27.31 kt
1962 27.69 kt +1.4%
1963 27.99 kt +1.1%
1964 27.62 kt -1.3%
1965 27.69 kt +0.2%
1966 25.83 kt -6.7%
1967 27 kt +4.5%
1968 26.95 kt -0.2%
1969 27.42 kt +1.7%
1970 27.49 kt +0.2%
1971 27.87 kt +1.4%
1972 28.49 kt +2.2%
1973 28 kt -1.7%
1974 29.25 kt +4.5%
1975 30.4 kt +3.9%
1976 30.89 kt +1.6%
1977 32.04 kt +3.7%
1978 32.82 kt +2.4%
1979 34.2 kt +4.2%
1980 34.73 kt +1.5%
1981 35.52 kt +2.3%
1982 34.53 kt -2.8%
1983 32.29 kt -6.5%
1984 32.5 kt +0.7%
1985 31.02 kt -4.6%
1986 31.03 kt +0.0%
1987 30.73 kt -1.0%
1988 31.85 kt +3.6%
1989 32.75 kt +2.8%
1990 33.69 kt +2.9%
1991 33.71 kt +0.0%
1992 32.62 kt -3.2%
1993 33.49 kt +2.6%
1994 32.67 kt -2.4%
1995 32 kt -2.0%
1996 33.77 kt +5.5%
1997 34.29 kt +1.5%
1998 34.24 kt -0.1%
1999 34.32 kt +0.2%
2000 34.93 kt +1.8%
2001 34.11 kt -2.3%
2002 35.4 kt +3.8%
2003 34.06 kt -3.8%
2004 34.09 kt +0.1%
2005 33.21 kt -2.6%
2006 33.6 kt +1.2%
2007 34.36 kt +2.3%
2008 35.26 kt +2.6%
2009 34.98 kt -0.8%
2010 34.69 kt -0.8%
2011 34.83 kt +0.4%
2012 35.36 kt +1.5%
2013 34.62 kt -2.1%
2014 34.73 kt +0.3%
2015 33.34 kt -4.0%
2016 32.04 kt -3.9%
2017 34.79 kt +8.6%
2018 34.78 kt -0.0%
2019 34.6 kt -0.5%
2020 35.61 kt +2.9%
2021 36.03 kt +1.2%
2022 34.69 kt -3.7%
2023 32.95 kt -5.0%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s 27.28 kt 25.83 kt 27.99 kt 9
1970s 30.14 kt 27.49 kt 34.2 kt 10
1980s 32.69 kt 30.73 kt 35.52 kt 10
1990s 33.48 kt 32 kt 34.32 kt 10
2000s 34.4 kt 33.21 kt 35.4 kt 10
2010s 34.38 kt 32.04 kt 35.36 kt 10
2020s 34.82 kt 32.95 kt 36.03 kt 4

Countries ranked near South Africa

  1. 29 Mali 34.85 kt compare
  2. 30 Uzbekistan 34.55 kt compare
  3. 31 Niger 33.31 kt compare
  4. 32 Cabo Verde 0.113 kt compare
  5. 33 New Zealand 32.06 kt compare
  6. 34 Poland 31.95 kt compare
  7. 35 Ukraine 31.16 kt compare

See the full ranking of 253 places →

More climate change data for South Africa

All data for South Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is agricultural soils — direct emissions in South Africa?
Agricultural soils — direct emissions in South Africa was 32.95 kt in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
What is the highest agricultural soils — direct emissions recorded in South Africa?
The highest recorded value was 36.03 kt in 2021.
What is the lowest agricultural soils — direct emissions recorded in South Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 25.83 kt in 1966.
How does South Africa rank for agricultural soils — direct emissions?
South Africa ranks 32nd out of 201 countries with data for 2023.
Is agricultural soils — direct emissions rising or falling in South Africa?
Over the last ten years it is down 4.8%. 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, published as part of Agricultural Soils — Direct emissions (N2O). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Agricultural Soils — Direct emissions in South Africa. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 04 September 2026, from https://climate.statizoid.com/stat/agricultural-soils-direct-emissions-n2o-fao-tier-1/south-africa/

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About this data

Indicator
Agricultural Soils — Direct emissions (N2O)
Unit
kt
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)
Coverage
253 places, 14,507 data points, 1961–2023
Last refreshed

The FAOSTAT domain on Emissions Totals summarizes the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions disseminated in the FAOSTAT Climate Change domains of emissions from agrifood systems. Data are computed following the Tier 1 methods of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Guidelines for National greenhouse gas (GHG) Inventories (IPCC, 1996; 1997; 2000; 2002; 2006; 2014). Emissions from other economic sectors as defined by the IPCC are also disseminated in the domain for completeness. Methodological details can be found at: https://files-faostat.fao.org/production/GT/GT_en.pdf