Protected areas in South Africa
Protected areas covered 12.9% of the territory of South Africa in 2025. The value for 2025 is the highest since 2017.
South Africa, 2025
12.9%
Change from 2024
+0.1percentage points
World, 2025
17.0%
Median of G20 countries, 2025
14.8%
Position in 2025
99th of 213
Protected areas in South Africa over time
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South Africa
World
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The chart loads when you scroll to it. The table below shows the same data.
The chart shows a calculation from the published values. The table below keeps the published values.
% of total territorial area. Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators. Gaps mean no published value; points are not joined across missing years.
| Period | South Africa | World |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 12.9% | 17.0% |
| 2024 | 12.8% | 15.3% |
| 2023 | 12.7% | 14.9% |
| 2022 | 12.7% | 14.9% |
| 2021 | 12.5% | 14.7% |
| 2020 | 12.4% | 14.8% |
| 2019 | 11.8% | 14.5% |
| 2018 | 10.3% | 14.1% |
| 2017 | 13.0% | 13.5% |
| 2016 | 13.0% | 13.2% |
| 2015 | 11.7% | 12.1% |
| 2014 | 10.6% | 11.9% |
| 2013 | 9.8% | 11.1% |
A dash means no value was published for that period.
In short
- That is a change of +0.1 percentage points from 12.8% in 2024.
- Since 2015, when it was 11.7%, the figure has changed by +1.2 percentage points.
- Among the 213 countries with data for 2025, South Africa has the 99th highest value.
- The figure for the world in 2025 was 17.0%.