Share of global CO₂ consumption-based emissions in South Africa
South Africa: Share of global CO₂ consumption-based emissions was 0.9% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Share of global CO₂ consumption-based emissions in South Africa, 1990–2023
Source: Global Carbon Budget (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of global co₂ consumption-based emissions in South Africa is 0.9%, measured in 2023.
The figure is up 0.7% on the previous year and down 15.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of global co₂ consumption-based emissions in South Africa peaked at 1.6% in 1997 and was at its lowest, 0.8%, in 2022.
That places South Africa 19th out of 117 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 34 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 1.5% | 1.3% | 1.6% | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.1% | 1.0% | 1.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.0% | 1.0% | 1.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.9% | 0.8% | 1.0% | 4 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More climate change data for South Africa
- Share of global CO₂ emissions and population 0.9% (2100)
- Population growth 1.1% (2025)
- Population, total 64.75 million (2025)
- Urban population growth 1.3% (2025)
- Urban population 41.32 million (2025)
- Urban population 63.8% (2025)
- CO₂ emissions per capita vs. GDP per capita 6.87 tonnes per person (2024)
- Cumulative CO₂ emissions 22.83 billion tonnes (2024)
- CO₂ emissions per capita 6.87 tonnes per person (2024)
- CO₂ emissions per capita vs. share of electricity generation from renewables 6.87 tonnes per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of global co₂ consumption-based emissions in South Africa?
- Share of global co₂ consumption-based emissions in South Africa was 0.9% in 2023, according to Global Carbon Budget (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of global co₂ consumption-based emissions recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 1.6% in 1997.
- What is the lowest share of global co₂ consumption-based emissions recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.8% in 2022.
- How does South Africa rank for share of global co₂ consumption-based emissions?
- South Africa ranks 19th out of 117 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of global co₂ consumption-based emissions rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 15.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from Global Carbon Budget (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of global CO₂ consumption-based emissions. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 34 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Annual consumption-based emissions of carbon dioxide (CO₂), measured as a percentage of global consumption-based emissions of CO₂ in the same year.