Estimate of current tobacco smoking prevalence in South Africa
South Africa: Estimate of current tobacco smoking prevalence was 23.7% in 2030. ▲ Rising
Estimate of current tobacco smoking prevalence in South Africa, 2000–2030
Source: World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory.
Analysis
In 2030, estimate of current tobacco smoking prevalence in South Africa stood at 23.7%. That is the highest value across all 11 years on record.
That represents a change of up 4.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, estimate of current tobacco smoking prevalence in South Africa peaked at 23.7% in 2030 and was at its lowest, 20.8%, in 2000.
South Africa ranks 36th of 167 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 11 years of available data.
Estimate of current tobacco smoking prevalence in South Africa, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 20.8% | — |
| 2005 | 21.0% | +1.0% |
| 2007 | 21.2% | +1.0% |
| 2010 | 21.5% | +1.4% |
| 2015 | 22.2% | +3.3% |
| 2020 | 22.7% | +2.3% |
| 2022 | 23.0% | +1.3% |
| 2023 | 23.1% | +0.4% |
| 2024 | 23.3% | +0.9% |
| 2025 | 23.2% | -0.4% |
| 2030 | 23.7% | +2.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 21.0% | 20.8% | 21.2% | 3 |
| 2010s | 21.9% | 21.5% | 22.2% | 2 |
| 2020s | 23.1% | 22.7% | 23.3% | 5 |
| 2030s | 23.7% | 23.7% | 23.7% | 1 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More social development data for South Africa
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 55,177 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 1,319 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 2 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 2 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 1,319 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0009 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is estimate of current tobacco smoking prevalence in South Africa?
- Estimate of current tobacco smoking prevalence in South Africa was 23.7% in 2030, according to World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory.
- What is the highest estimate of current tobacco smoking prevalence recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 23.7% in 2030.
- What is the lowest estimate of current tobacco smoking prevalence recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 20.8% in 2000.
- How does South Africa rank for estimate of current tobacco smoking prevalence?
- South Africa ranks 36th out of 167 countries with data for 2030.
- Is estimate of current tobacco smoking prevalence rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory, published as part of Estimate of current tobacco smoking prevalence (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 11 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (WHO).