Forest land — Carbon stock in living biomass in South Africa
South Africa: Forest land — Carbon stock in living biomass was 935.85 million t in 2025. ▲ Rising
Forest land — Carbon stock in living biomass in South Africa, 1990–2025
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in million t.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 935.85 million t for forest land — carbon stock in living biomass in 2025. That is the highest value across all 36 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.2% on the previous year and up 4.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, forest land — carbon stock in living biomass in South Africa peaked at 935.85 million t in 2025 and was at its lowest, 801.38 million t, in 1990.
South Africa ranks 44th of 215 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 36 years of available data.
Forest land — Carbon stock in living biomass in South Africa, year by year
| Year | million t | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 801.38 million t | — |
| 1991 | 805.21 million t | +0.5% |
| 1992 | 809.04 million t | +0.5% |
| 1993 | 812.87 million t | +0.5% |
| 1994 | 816.7 million t | +0.5% |
| 1995 | 820.54 million t | +0.5% |
| 1996 | 824.37 million t | +0.5% |
| 1997 | 828.2 million t | +0.5% |
| 1998 | 832.03 million t | +0.5% |
| 1999 | 835.86 million t | +0.5% |
| 2000 | 839.69 million t | +0.5% |
| 2001 | 843.55 million t | +0.5% |
| 2002 | 847.4 million t | +0.5% |
| 2003 | 851.26 million t | +0.5% |
| 2004 | 855.11 million t | +0.5% |
| 2005 | 858.97 million t | +0.5% |
| 2006 | 862.83 million t | +0.4% |
| 2007 | 866.68 million t | +0.4% |
| 2008 | 870.54 million t | +0.4% |
| 2009 | 874.39 million t | +0.4% |
| 2010 | 878.25 million t | +0.4% |
| 2011 | 882.03 million t | +0.4% |
| 2012 | 885.82 million t | +0.4% |
| 2013 | 889.6 million t | +0.4% |
| 2014 | 893.39 million t | +0.4% |
| 2015 | 897.17 million t | +0.4% |
| 2016 | 884.49 million t | -1.4% |
| 2017 | 871.81 million t | -1.4% |
| 2018 | 859.14 million t | -1.5% |
| 2019 | 846.46 million t | -1.5% |
| 2020 | 833.78 million t | -1.5% |
| 2021 | 854.19 million t | +2.4% |
| 2022 | 874.61 million t | +2.4% |
| 2023 | 895.02 million t | +2.3% |
| 2024 | 915.44 million t | +2.3% |
| 2025 | 935.85 million t | +2.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 818.62 million t | 801.38 million t | 835.86 million t | 10 |
| 2000s | 857.04 million t | 839.69 million t | 874.39 million t | 10 |
| 2010s | 878.82 million t | 846.46 million t | 897.17 million t | 10 |
| 2020s | 884.82 million t | 833.78 million t | 935.85 million t | 6 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More climate change data for South Africa
- 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)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 13.45 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is forest land — carbon stock in living biomass in South Africa?
- Forest land — carbon stock in living biomass in South Africa was 935.85 million t in 2025, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest forest land — carbon stock in living biomass recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 935.85 million t in 2025.
- What is the lowest forest land — carbon stock in living biomass recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 801.38 million t in 1990.
- How does South Africa rank for forest land — carbon stock in living biomass?
- South Africa ranks 44th out of 215 countries with data for 2025.
- Is forest land — carbon stock in living biomass rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.3%. 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 Forest land — Carbon stock in living biomass. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 36 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO).
About this data
The FAOSTAT Land Use domain contains data on twenty-one land use categories and twenty-three categories of irrigation and agricultural practices. Data are available yearly and by country, regional and global levels. The domain includes Land Use Indicators providing information on the percentage share of agricultural and forest land, and their sub-components, including irrigated areas and areas under organic agriculture, within a country land use matrix. Data are available at country, regional and global level, for the following elements: (in percentage) i) Share in Land area; ii) Share in Agricultural land, iii) Share in Cropland; and iv) Share in Forest land; (in ha/pc) v) Area per capita.