Drained organic soils — Area in Southern Africa

Southern Africa: Drained organic soils — Area was 32,401 ha in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
32,401 ha
Change on year
unchanged
Rank
25th
of 31 groups
All-time high
32,401 ha
in 2022
All-time low
26,758 ha
in 1990
Years of data
35
1990–2024

Drained organic soils — Area in Southern Africa, 1990–2024

010.0k20.0k30.0k1990200720241990: 26.8k ha1991: 26.8k ha1992: 26.8k ha1993: 26.8k ha1994: 26.8k ha1995: 26.9k ha1996: 27.0k ha1997: 27.2k ha1998: 27.8k ha1999: 29.0k ha2000: 29.6k ha2001: 29.7k ha2002: 30.2k ha2003: 31.1k ha2004: 31.7k ha2005: 31.8k ha2006: 31.7k ha2007: 31.8k ha2008: 31.8k ha2009: 31.8k ha2010: 31.8k ha2011: 31.8k ha2012: 31.8k ha2013: 31.7k ha2014: 31.6k ha2015: 31.6k ha2016: 31.7k ha2017: 31.8k ha2018: 31.8k ha2019: 32.3k ha2020: 32.3k ha2021: 32.3k ha2022: 32.4k ha2023: 32.4k ha2024: 32.4k ha

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

Analysis

The most recent figure for drained organic soils — area in Southern Africa is 32,401 ha, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 35 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, drained organic soils — area in Southern Africa peaked at 32,401 ha in 2022 and was at its lowest, 26,758 ha, in 1990.

That places Southern Africa 25th out of 31 groups with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 35 years of available data.

Drained organic soils — Area in Southern Africa, year by year

Annual values for Drained organic soils — Area in Southern Africa, 1990 to 2024.
Year ha Change
1990 26,758 ha
1991 26,758 ha +0.0%
1992 26,758 ha +0.0%
1993 26,758 ha +0.0%
1994 26,758 ha +0.0%
1995 26,897 ha +0.5%
1996 27,037 ha +0.5%
1997 27,224 ha +0.7%
1998 27,817 ha +2.2%
1999 29,038 ha +4.4%
2000 29,585 ha +1.9%
2001 29,661 ha +0.3%
2002 30,168 ha +1.7%
2003 31,069 ha +3.0%
2004 31,692 ha +2.0%
2005 31,813 ha +0.4%
2006 31,664 ha -0.5%
2007 31,757 ha +0.3%
2008 31,793 ha +0.1%
2009 31,835 ha +0.1%
2010 31,836 ha +0.0%
2011 31,781 ha -0.2%
2012 31,781 ha +0.0%
2013 31,727 ha -0.2%
2014 31,600 ha -0.4%
2015 31,598 ha -0.0%
2016 31,748 ha +0.5%
2017 31,829 ha +0.3%
2018 31,835 ha +0.0%
2019 32,295 ha +1.4%
2020 32,344 ha +0.2%
2021 32,332 ha -0.0%
2022 32,401 ha +0.2%
2023 32,401 ha +0.0%
2024 32,401 ha +0.0%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 27,180 ha 26,758 ha 29,038 ha 10
2000s 31,104 ha 29,585 ha 31,835 ha 10
2010s 31,803 ha 31,598 ha 32,295 ha 10
2020s 32,376 ha 32,332 ha 32,401 ha 5

Countries ranked near Southern Africa

  1. 22 Sudan (former) 260,614 ha compare
  2. 23 South Sudan 251,606 ha compare
  3. 24 Australia and New Zealand 244,540 ha compare
  4. 25 Norway 242,993 ha compare
  5. 26 France 216,314 ha compare
  6. 27 Hungary 198,530 ha compare
  7. 28 Latvia 194,665 ha compare

See the full ranking of 274 places →

More climate change data for Southern Africa

All data for Southern Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is drained organic soils — area in Southern Africa?
Drained organic soils — area in Southern Africa was 32,401 ha in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
What is the highest drained organic soils — area recorded in Southern Africa?
The highest recorded value was 32,401 ha in 2022.
What is the lowest drained organic soils — area recorded in Southern Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 26,758 ha in 1990.
How does Southern Africa rank for drained organic soils — area?
Southern Africa ranks 25th out of 31 groups with data for 2024.
Is drained organic soils — area rising or falling in Southern Africa?
Over the last ten years it is up 2.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Southern Africa data come from?
The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Drained organic soils — Area. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Drained organic soils — Area in Southern Africa. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 28 August 2026, from https://climate.statizoid.com/stat/drained-organic-soils-area-fao-tier-1/southern-africa/

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About this data

Indicator
Drained organic soils — Area
Unit
ha
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)
Coverage
274 places, 9,364 data points, 1990–2024
Last refreshed

The FAOSTAT domain on Emissions from drained organic soils consists of nitrous oxide (N2O) and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions generated from the mineralization and oxidation of organic matter in organic soils that are drained for agricultural activities.