Forest land — Carbon stock in living biomass in Southern Africa
Southern Africa: Forest land — Carbon stock in living biomass was 2,753 million t in 2025. ▬ Flat
Forest land — Carbon stock in living biomass in Southern Africa, 1990–2025
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in million t.
Analysis
In 2025, forest land — carbon stock in living biomass in Southern Africa stood at 2,753 million t. That is the highest value across all 36 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.7% on the previous year and up 1.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, forest land — carbon stock in living biomass in Southern Africa peaked at 2,753 million t in 2025 and was at its lowest, 2,650 million t, in 1990.
Southern Africa ranks 25th of 31 groups on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
Forest land — Carbon stock in living biomass in Southern Africa, year by year
| Year | million t | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 2,650 million t | — |
| 1991 | 2,651 million t | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 2,652 million t | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 2,653 million t | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 2,654 million t | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 2,655 million t | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 2,656 million t | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 2,656 million t | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 2,657 million t | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 2,658 million t | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 2,659 million t | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 2,663 million t | +0.1% |
| 2002 | 2,667 million t | +0.1% |
| 2003 | 2,670 million t | +0.1% |
| 2004 | 2,674 million t | +0.1% |
| 2005 | 2,678 million t | +0.1% |
| 2006 | 2,682 million t | +0.1% |
| 2007 | 2,685 million t | +0.1% |
| 2008 | 2,689 million t | +0.1% |
| 2009 | 2,693 million t | +0.1% |
| 2010 | 2,697 million t | +0.1% |
| 2011 | 2,700 million t | +0.1% |
| 2012 | 2,704 million t | +0.1% |
| 2013 | 2,708 million t | +0.1% |
| 2014 | 2,711 million t | +0.1% |
| 2015 | 2,715 million t | +0.1% |
| 2016 | 2,702 million t | -0.5% |
| 2017 | 2,689 million t | -0.5% |
| 2018 | 2,677 million t | -0.5% |
| 2019 | 2,664 million t | -0.5% |
| 2020 | 2,651 million t | -0.5% |
| 2021 | 2,672 million t | +0.8% |
| 2022 | 2,692 million t | +0.8% |
| 2023 | 2,712 million t | +0.8% |
| 2024 | 2,732 million t | +0.7% |
| 2025 | 2,753 million t | +0.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 2,654 million t | 2,650 million t | 2,658 million t | 10 |
| 2000s | 2,676 million t | 2,659 million t | 2,693 million t | 10 |
| 2010s | 2,697 million t | 2,664 million t | 2,715 million t | 10 |
| 2020s | 2,702 million t | 2,651 million t | 2,753 million t | 6 |
Countries ranked near Southern Africa
More climate change data for Southern Africa
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 48,717 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 16,474 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 32,243 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 62.17 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 1,152 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 5,709 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 5,306 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 402.74 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 20.02 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 14.38 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is forest land — carbon stock in living biomass in Southern Africa?
- Forest land — carbon stock in living biomass in Southern Africa was 2,753 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 Southern Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 2,753 million t in 2025.
- What is the lowest forest land — carbon stock in living biomass recorded in Southern Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 2,650 million t in 1990.
- How does Southern Africa rank for forest land — carbon stock in living biomass?
- Southern Africa ranks 25th out of 31 groups with data for 2025.
- Is forest land — carbon stock in living biomass rising or falling in Southern Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this Southern 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.