Waste — Emissions Share in South Africa

South Africa: Waste — Emissions Share was 26.71 % in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
26.71 %
Change on year
up 0.5%
World rank
90th
of 222 countries
All-time high
26.71 %
in 2023
All-time low
14.97 %
in 1990
Years of data
34
1990–2023

Waste — Emissions Share in South Africa, 1990–2023

01020301990200620231990: 15 %1991: 15.2 %1992: 15.6 %1993: 15.6 %1994: 15.3 %1995: 16.1 %1996: 16.2 %1997: 16.4 %1998: 16.3 %1999: 16.7 %2000: 17.6 %2001: 18.1 %2002: 18.9 %2003: 18.5 %2004: 18.6 %2005: 18.7 %2006: 19.7 %2007: 19.8 %2008: 19.9 %2009: 19.8 %2010: 20.3 %2011: 20.9 %2012: 21.9 %2013: 22.8 %2014: 22.6 %2015: 23 %2016: 23.4 %2017: 23.5 %2018: 23.9 %2019: 24.4 %2020: 25.1 %2021: 26.1 %2022: 26.6 %2023: 26.7 %

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

Analysis

In 2023, waste — emissions share in South Africa stood at 26.71 %. That is the highest value across all 34 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.5% on the previous year and up 17.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, waste — emissions share in South Africa peaked at 26.71 % in 2023 and was at its lowest, 14.97 %, in 1990.

South Africa ranks 90th of 222 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

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

Waste — Emissions Share in South Africa, year by year

Annual values for Waste — Emissions Share (CH4) in South Africa, 1990 to 2023.
Year % Change
1990 14.97 % —
1991 15.15 % +1.2%
1992 15.64 % +3.2%
1993 15.62 % -0.1%
1994 15.33 % -1.9%
1995 16.11 % +5.1%
1996 16.2 % +0.6%
1997 16.42 % +1.4%
1998 16.26 % -1.0%
1999 16.74 % +3.0%
2000 17.59 % +5.1%
2001 18.07 % +2.7%
2002 18.85 % +4.3%
2003 18.49 % -1.9%
2004 18.58 % +0.5%
2005 18.74 % +0.9%
2006 19.69 % +5.1%
2007 19.76 % +0.4%
2008 19.89 % +0.7%
2009 19.8 % -0.5%
2010 20.33 % +2.7%
2011 20.85 % +2.6%
2012 21.92 % +5.1%
2013 22.83 % +4.2%
2014 22.6 % -1.0%
2015 22.97 % +1.6%
2016 23.45 % +2.1%
2017 23.5 % +0.2%
2018 23.92 % +1.8%
2019 24.44 % +2.2%
2020 25.13 % +2.8%
2021 26.07 % +3.7%
2022 26.58 % +2.0%
2023 26.71 % +0.5%

South Africa compared with similar countries

  • South Africa's 26.71 % is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 25.91 %, 1.0× the median. (55 countries reporting)
  • South Africa's 26.71 % is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 11.5 %, 2.3× the median. (45 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 15.84 % 14.97 % 16.74 % 10
2000s 18.95 % 17.59 % 19.89 % 10
2010s 22.68 % 20.33 % 24.44 % 10
2020s 26.12 % 25.13 % 26.71 % 4

Countries ranked near South Africa

  1. 87 Nauru 27.22 % compare
  2. 87 Nauru 27.22 % compare
  3. 89 Kuwait 27.18 % compare
  4. 91 Austria 26.62 % compare
  5. 92 Thailand 26.51 % compare
  6. 93 Italy 25.93 % compare

See the full ranking of 254 places →

More climate change data for South Africa

All data for South Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is waste — emissions share in South Africa?
Waste — emissions share in South Africa was 26.71 % in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
What is the highest waste — emissions share recorded in South Africa?
The highest recorded value was 26.71 % in 2023.
What is the lowest waste — emissions share recorded in South Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 14.97 % in 1990.
How does South Africa rank for waste — emissions share?
South Africa ranks 90th out of 222 countries with data for 2023.
Is waste — emissions share rising or falling in South Africa?
Over the last ten years it is up 17.0%. 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 Waste — Emissions Share (CH4). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

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

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Waste — Emissions Share in South Africa. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 27 September 2026, from https://climate.statizoid.com/stat/waste-emissions-share-ch4/south-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/waste-emissions-share-ch4/south-africa/">Waste — Emissions Share in South Africa</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Waste — Emissions Share (CH4)
Unit
%
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)
Coverage
254 places, 8,412 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.