Terrestrial protected areas in South Africa
Protected areas covered 9.6% of the land area of South Africa in 2025. The value for 2025 is the highest since 2017.
South Africa, 2025
9.6%
Change from 2024
+0.1percentage points
World, 2025
16.5%
Median of G20 countries, 2025
15.6%
Position in 2025
155th of 213
Terrestrial 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 land area. Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators. Gaps mean no published value; points are not joined across missing years.
| Period | South Africa | World |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 9.6% | 16.5% |
| 2024 | 9.5% | 16.4% |
| 2023 | 9.3% | 16.1% |
| 2022 | 9.3% | 15.9% |
| 2021 | 8.7% | 15.8% |
| 2020 | 8.6% | 15.4% |
| 2019 | 8.3% | 15.1% |
| 2018 | 8.0% | 15.0% |
| 2017 | 14.1% | 15.1% |
| 2016 | 14.1% | 14.9% |
| 2015 | 11.2% | 15.0% |
| 2014 | 8.9% | 15.2% |
| 2013 | 7.0% | 15.0% |
A dash means no value was published for that period.
In short
- That is a change of +0.1 percentage points from 9.5% in 2024.
- Since 2015, when it was 11.2%, the figure has changed by −1.6 percentage points.
- Among the 213 countries with data for 2025, South Africa has the 155th highest value.
- The figure for the world in 2025 was 16.5%.