Grassland — Burning crop residues in Southern Africa

Southern Africa: Grassland — Burning crop residues was 28.54 million t in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
28.54 million t
Change on year
down 47.8%
Rank
13th
of 31 groups
All-time high
83.64 million t
in 2011
All-time low
8.50 million t
in 1999
Years of data
35
1990–2024

Grassland — Burning crop residues in Southern Africa, 1990–2024

020.0M40.0M60.0M80.0M1990200720241990: 37.9M t1991: 37.9M t1992: 37.9M t1993: 37.9M t1994: 37.9M t1995: 37.9M t1996: 9.5M t1997: 8.9M t1998: 8.8M t1999: 8.5M t2000: 10.0M t2001: 53.1M t2002: 55.8M t2003: 31.5M t2004: 36.3M t2005: 45.7M t2006: 52.6M t2007: 41.1M t2008: 60.9M t2009: 42.5M t2010: 75.7M t2011: 83.6M t2012: 53.2M t2013: 41.4M t2014: 39.2M t2015: 26.6M t2016: 20.4M t2017: 37.7M t2018: 28.8M t2019: 19.8M t2020: 28.8M t2021: 57.2M t2022: 39.2M t2023: 54.7M t2024: 28.5M t

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

Analysis

The most recent figure for grassland — burning crop residues in Southern Africa is 28.54 million t, measured in 2024.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 47.8% on the previous year and down 27.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, grassland — burning crop residues in Southern Africa peaked at 83.64 million t in 2011 and was at its lowest, 8.50 million t, in 1999.

That places Southern Africa 13th out of 31 groups with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.

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

Grassland — Burning crop residues in Southern Africa, year by year

Annual values for Grassland — Burning crop residues (Biomass burned, dry matter) in Southern Africa, 1990 to 2024.
Year t Change
1990 37.93 million t
1991 37.93 million t +0.0%
1992 37.93 million t +0.0%
1993 37.93 million t +0.0%
1994 37.93 million t +0.0%
1995 37.93 million t +0.0%
1996 9.50 million t -74.9%
1997 8.89 million t -6.4%
1998 8.83 million t -0.7%
1999 8.50 million t -3.7%
2000 9.96 million t +17.2%
2001 53.11 million t +433.1%
2002 55.76 million t +5.0%
2003 31.55 million t -43.4%
2004 36.29 million t +15.0%
2005 45.69 million t +25.9%
2006 52.59 million t +15.1%
2007 41.07 million t -21.9%
2008 60.91 million t +48.3%
2009 42.51 million t -30.2%
2010 75.73 million t +78.1%
2011 83.64 million t +10.4%
2012 53.15 million t -36.4%
2013 41.36 million t -22.2%
2014 39.24 million t -5.1%
2015 26.64 million t -32.1%
2016 20.44 million t -23.3%
2017 37.73 million t +84.6%
2018 28.76 million t -23.8%
2019 19.77 million t -31.3%
2020 28.75 million t +45.4%
2021 57.16 million t +98.8%
2022 39.19 million t -31.4%
2023 54.69 million t +39.6%
2024 28.54 million t -47.8%

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Grassland — Burning crop residues in Southern Africa changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.

YearChange FromTo
2001 +433.1% 9.96 million t 53.11 million t

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 26.33 million t 8.50 million t 37.93 million t 10
2000s 42.94 million t 9.96 million t 60.91 million t 10
2010s 42.65 million t 19.77 million t 83.64 million t 10
2020s 41.67 million t 28.54 million t 57.16 million t 5

Countries ranked near Southern Africa

  1. 10 Chad 23.34 million t compare
  2. 10 Lao People's Democratic Republic 418,186 t compare
  3. 11 Türkiye 169,681 t compare
  4. 11 Zambia 18.66 million t compare
  5. 12 Burkina Faso 16.94 million t compare
  6. 12 Viet Nam 142,884 t compare
  7. 13 Madagascar 16.90 million t compare
  8. 13 Melanesia 131,986 t compare
  9. 14 South Africa 16.59 million t compare
  10. 14 Syrian Arab Republic 18,866 t compare
  11. 15 Senegal 16.24 million t compare
  12. 15 Timor-Leste 3,694 t compare
  13. 16 Democratic People's Republic of Korea 3,613 t compare
  14. 16 Ghana 15.46 million t compare

See the full ranking of 273 places →

More climate change data for Southern Africa

All data for Southern Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is grassland — burning crop residues in Southern Africa?
Grassland — burning crop residues in Southern Africa was 28.54 million t in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
What is the highest grassland — burning crop residues recorded in Southern Africa?
The highest recorded value was 83.64 million t in 2011.
What is the lowest grassland — burning crop residues recorded in Southern Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 8.50 million t in 1999.
How does Southern Africa rank for grassland — burning crop residues?
Southern Africa ranks 13th out of 31 groups with data for 2024.
Is grassland — burning crop residues rising or falling in Southern Africa?
Over the last ten years it is down 27.3%. 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 Grassland — Burning crop residues (Biomass burned, dry matter). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 35 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Grassland — Burning crop residues in Southern Africa. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 13 September 2026, from https://climate.statizoid.com/stat/grassland-burning-crop-residues-biomass-burned-dry-matter-fao-tier-1/southern-africa/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://climate.statizoid.com/stat/grassland-burning-crop-residues-biomass-burned-dry-matter-fao-tier-1/southern-africa/">Grassland — Burning crop residues in Southern Africa</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Grassland — Burning crop residues (Biomass burned, dry matter)
Unit
t
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)
Coverage
273 places, 9,329 data points, 1990–2024
Last refreshed

The FAOSTAT domain on Emissions from Fires consists of estimates of methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O) and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions generated from biomass burning in a range of vegetation types and from fires in organic soils.