Co2 intensity in South Africa
South Africa: Co2 intensity was 0.5926 in 2022. ▼ Falling
Latest (2022)
0.5926
Change on year
down 4.4%
World rank
9th
of 164 countries
All-time high
1.51
in 1986
All-time low
0.5926
in 2022
Years of data
73
1950–2022
Co2 intensity in South Africa, 1950–2022
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 0.5926 for co2 intensity in 2022. That is the lowest value across all 73 years on record.
The figure is down 4.4% on the previous year and down 15.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, co2 intensity in South Africa peaked at 1.51 in 1986 and was at its lowest, 0.5926, in 2022.
That places South Africa 9th out of 164 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 73 years of available data.
Co2 intensity in South Africa, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 1.11 | — |
| 1951 | 1.13 | +2.0% |
| 1952 | 1.19 | +5.1% |
| 1953 | 1.14 | -4.3% |
| 1954 | 1.12 | -1.7% |
| 1955 | 1.2 | +6.9% |
| 1956 | 1.19 | -0.3% |
| 1957 | 1.18 | -1.0% |
| 1958 | 1.24 | +5.2% |
| 1959 | 1.17 | -6.0% |
| 1960 | 1.16 | -0.6% |
| 1961 | 1.16 | +0.0% |
| 1962 | 1.14 | -2.0% |
| 1963 | 1.1 | -3.3% |
| 1964 | 1.12 | +2.1% |
| 1965 | 1.14 | +1.1% |
| 1966 | 1.09 | -4.1% |
| 1967 | 1.06 | -2.4% |
| 1968 | 1.05 | -1.2% |
| 1969 | 1.03 | -2.3% |
| 1970 | 1.02 | -0.6% |
| 1971 | 1.09 | +7.3% |
| 1972 | 1.09 | -0.1% |
| 1973 | 1.06 | -3.0% |
| 1974 | 1.02 | -3.6% |
| 1975 | 1.05 | +2.9% |
| 1976 | 1.07 | +1.8% |
| 1977 | 1.11 | +3.7% |
| 1978 | 1.09 | -1.8% |
| 1979 | 1.14 | +4.2% |
| 1980 | 1.11 | -2.0% |
| 1981 | 1.19 | +7.0% |
| 1982 | 1.31 | +9.5% |
| 1983 | 1.39 | +6.0% |
| 1984 | 1.43 | +2.9% |
| 1985 | 1.48 | +3.9% |
| 1986 | 1.51 | +2.0% |
| 1987 | 1.47 | -2.5% |
| 1988 | 1.47 | +0.1% |
| 1989 | 1.44 | -2.6% |
| 1990 | 1.33 | -7.3% |
| 1991 | 1.37 | +3.0% |
| 1992 | 1.26 | -7.8% |
| 1993 | 1.3 | +2.6% |
| 1994 | 1.29 | -0.2% |
| 1995 | 1.3 | +0.7% |
| 1996 | 1.23 | -6.0% |
| 1997 | 1.23 | +0.8% |
| 1998 | 1.18 | -4.6% |
| 1999 | 1.12 | -4.9% |
| 2000 | 1.06 | -5.2% |
| 2001 | 0.9912 | -6.7% |
| 2002 | 0.8999 | -9.2% |
| 2003 | 0.9775 | +8.6% |
| 2004 | 1.02 | +4.6% |
| 2005 | 0.8852 | -13.5% |
| 2006 | 0.8836 | -0.2% |
| 2007 | 0.8565 | -3.1% |
| 2008 | 0.8653 | +1.0% |
| 2009 | 0.8256 | -4.6% |
| 2010 | 0.7692 | -6.8% |
| 2011 | 0.7349 | -4.5% |
| 2012 | 0.6982 | -5.0% |
| 2013 | 0.6736 | -3.5% |
| 2014 | 0.7012 | +4.1% |
| 2015 | 0.6574 | -6.3% |
| 2016 | 0.6524 | -0.8% |
| 2017 | 0.6209 | -4.8% |
| 2018 | 0.6307 | +1.6% |
| 2019 | 0.6523 | +3.4% |
| 2020 | 0.6441 | -1.3% |
| 2021 | 0.6198 | -3.8% |
| 2022 | 0.5926 | -4.4% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 0.5926 is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.2348, 2.5× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 0.5926 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.158, 3.8× the median. (44 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 1.17 | 1.11 | 1.24 | 10 |
| 1960s | 1.1 | 1.03 | 1.16 | 10 |
| 1970s | 1.08 | 1.02 | 1.14 | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.38 | 1.11 | 1.51 | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.26 | 1.12 | 1.37 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.927 | 0.8256 | 1.06 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.6791 | 0.6209 | 0.7692 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.6188 | 0.5926 | 0.6441 | 3 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More climate change data for South Africa
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Synthetic fertilizers (Agricultural) 717.27 million kg (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 34,365 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 11,741 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 22,624 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 44.31 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 807.99 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 5,495 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 5,119 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 376.6 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 19.32 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is co2 intensity in South Africa?
- Co2 intensity in South Africa was 0.5926 in 2022, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest co2 intensity recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 1.51 in 1986.
- What is the lowest co2 intensity recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.5926 in 2022.
- How does South Africa rank for co2 intensity?
- South Africa ranks 9th out of 164 countries with data for 2022.
- Is co2 intensity rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 15.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Co2 intensity. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 73 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).