Energy — Emissions per capita in South Africa

South Africa: Energy — Emissions per capita was 7.43 t CO2eq/cap in 2023. ▼ Falling

Latest (2023)
7.43 t CO2eq/cap
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
39th
of 187 countries
All-time high
11.49 t CO2eq/cap
in 2008
All-time low
7.43 t CO2eq/cap
in 2022
Years of data
34
1990–2023

Energy — Emissions per capita in South Africa, 1990–2023

02.557.51012.51990200620231990: 10 t CO2eq/cap1991: 10.1 t CO2eq/cap1992: 9.2 t CO2eq/cap1993: 9.4 t CO2eq/cap1994: 9.7 t CO2eq/cap1995: 10.2 t CO2eq/cap1996: 10.1 t CO2eq/cap1997: 10.5 t CO2eq/cap1998: 10.2 t CO2eq/cap1999: 10 t CO2eq/cap2000: 10 t CO2eq/cap2001: 9.2 t CO2eq/cap2002: 8.8 t CO2eq/cap2003: 9.8 t CO2eq/cap2004: 10.7 t CO2eq/cap2005: 10.2 t CO2eq/cap2006: 10.7 t CO2eq/cap2007: 11 t CO2eq/cap2008: 11.5 t CO2eq/cap2009: 11 t CO2eq/cap2010: 10.2 t CO2eq/cap2011: 10 t CO2eq/cap2012: 9.8 t CO2eq/cap2013: 9.6 t CO2eq/cap2014: 9.7 t CO2eq/cap2015: 9 t CO2eq/cap2016: 9.1 t CO2eq/cap2017: 8.8 t CO2eq/cap2018: 8.5 t CO2eq/cap2019: 8.9 t CO2eq/cap2020: 8.1 t CO2eq/cap2021: 7.9 t CO2eq/cap2022: 7.4 t CO2eq/cap2023: 7.4 t CO2eq/cap

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in t CO2eq/cap.

Analysis

South Africa recorded 7.43 t CO2eq/cap for energy — emissions per capita in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 34 years on record.

That represents a change of down 22.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, energy — emissions per capita in South Africa peaked at 11.49 t CO2eq/cap in 2008 and was at its lowest, 7.43 t CO2eq/cap, in 2022.

South Africa ranks 39th of 187 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 34 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 9.93 t CO2eq/cap 9.21 t CO2eq/cap 10.49 t CO2eq/cap 10
2000s 10.29 t CO2eq/cap 8.84 t CO2eq/cap 11.49 t CO2eq/cap 10
2010s 9.35 t CO2eq/cap 8.52 t CO2eq/cap 10.17 t CO2eq/cap 10
2020s 7.71 t CO2eq/cap 7.43 t CO2eq/cap 8.13 t CO2eq/cap 4

Countries ranked near South Africa

  1. 36 Norway 7.72 t CO2eq/cap compare
  2. 37 Czechia 7.66 t CO2eq/cap compare
  3. 38 Belgium 7.6 t CO2eq/cap compare
  4. 40 Poland 7.37 t CO2eq/cap compare
  5. 41 Netherlands (Kingdom of the) 7.05 t CO2eq/cap compare
  6. 42 Iraq 7.02 t CO2eq/cap compare

See the full ranking of 241 places →

More climate change data for South Africa

All data for South Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is energy — emissions per capita in South Africa?
Energy — emissions per capita in South Africa was 7.43 t CO2eq/cap in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
What is the highest energy — emissions per capita recorded in South Africa?
The highest recorded value was 11.49 t CO2eq/cap in 2008.
What is the lowest energy — emissions per capita recorded in South Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 7.43 t CO2eq/cap in 2022.
How does South Africa rank for energy — emissions per capita?
South Africa ranks 39th out of 187 countries with data for 2023.
Is energy — emissions per capita rising or falling in South Africa?
Over the last ten years it is down 22.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this South Africa data come from?
The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Energy — Emissions per capita. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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CSV · JSON — 34 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO).

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Energy — Emissions per capita in South Africa. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 19 August 2026, from https://climate.statizoid.com/stat/energy-emissions-per-capita/south-africa/

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About this data

Indicator
Energy — Emissions per capita
Unit
t CO2eq/cap
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)
Coverage
241 places, 7,974 data points, 1990–2023
Last refreshed

The FAOSTAT domain on Emissions indicators disseminates indicators on sectoral shares of total national greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as well as three indicators of emissions intensity: per capita emissions; emissions per value of agricultural production; and emissions per area of agricultural land.