Country comparison · 125 cities measured
Canada vs South Africa Air quality index (AQI) and deforestation
Canada has cleaner air than South Africa right now: its cities average AQI 25 against 63.
At ground stations alone, which measure rather than estimate, the averages are Canada 24 (55 cities) and South Africa 68 (34 cities). Canada has lost more forest since 2001. Canada has more tree cover in its cities.
Average of 59 cities
AQI 25
Good
Cleaner on average
- At ground stations
- AQI 24
- Tree cover
- 33.1%
- Forest lost since 2001
- 65.6 million ha
Average of 66 cities
AQI 63
Moderate
Cleaner on average
- At ground stations
- AQI 68
- Tree cover
- 21.8%
- Forest lost since 2001
- 1.66 million ha
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Canada25South Africa63
Head to head
Canada vs South Africa at a glance
Canada is ahead on 5 of 6 measures, and South Africa on 1. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Canada | South Africa | |
|---|---|---|
| Average air qualityUS AQI, all measured cities. | 25 (better) | 63 |
| At ground stationsCities with a current station reading. | 24 (better) | 68 |
| Cities over AQI 100Not fine for sensitive groups. | 0% (better) | 6% |
| Forest lost since 2001The whole country. | 65.6 million ha | 1.66 million ha (better) |
| Share of its forest lostOf what it had in 2000. | 17% (better) | 28% |
| Average tree coverAcross its measured cities. | 33.1% (better) | 21.8% |
Air quality today
Is Canada cleaner than South Africa?
On air quality, yes, right now. Canada has cleaner air than South Africa right now: its cities average AQI 25 against 63.
At ground stations alone, which measure rather than estimate, the averages are Canada 24 (55 cities) and South Africa 68 (34 cities).
0% of the measured cities in Canada are over AQI 100 today, the point where the air stops being fine for sensitive groups, against 6% in South Africa.
How each country's cities split across the air quality bands
Canada
- Good55 (93%)
- Moderate4 (7%)
South Africa
- Good23 (35%)
- Moderate39 (59%)
- Unhealthy for sensitive groups4 (6%)
Every measured city, including model estimates where no ground station is near.
Against everywhere else
How do Canada and South Africa compare with other countries?
Right now the cities of Canada average cleaner air than 94% of the 171 countries Airleaf has enough cities to average, and those of South Africa than 32%.
Cleaner air than…
- Canada
- Beats 94%
- South Africa
- Beats 32%
More tree cover than…
- Canada
- Beats 74%
- South Africa
- Beats 45%
Deforestation · 2001–2025
Which country has lost more forest, Canada or South Africa?
Canada has lost more: about 65.6 million ha of forest from 2001 to 2025, against 1.66 million ha in South Africa, or 40 times as much. 899,000 ha of Canada's was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns; the rest burned, was logged or can grow back.
The whole country, from the yearly satellite maps of forest loss: unlike the city averages above, this counts every forest, not just the land around cities.
Worst year: 2023, with 8.38 million ha lost.
Worst year: 2006, with 105,000 ha lost.
| Canada | South Africa | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 65.6 million ha | 1.66 million ha (better) |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 17% (better) | 28% |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 899,000 ha | 169,000 ha (better) |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Speeding up | Slowing down |
| Main known cause | Wildfires (60%) | Logging (77%) |
Trees
Which country has more tree cover, Canada or South Africa?
Canada does: its measured cities average 33.1% tree cover against 21.8%, a gap of 11.3 percentage points.
| Canada | South Africa | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingSummed across measured cities. | 5.8M (better) | 4.4M |
| Cities below their targetShort of the canopy target. | 41% (better) | 73% |
| Trees still neededTo reach those targets. | 447K (better) | 2.2M |
Behind the averages
The cities behind Canada and South Africa
An average says nothing about how far apart the best and worst places are. These are the measured cities at each end.
Canada
- Greenest measured city
- Saint-Louis-de-Terrebonne68.1% tree cover
- Worst air right now
- ReginaAQI 76
South Africa
- Greenest measured city
- Pinetown60.7% tree cover
- Worst air right now
- EmalahleniAQI 221
Reading these numbers
What a country average is, and is not
It is a mean of cities
Not a national statistic. Each figure is the average across the cities Airleaf has measured: 59 in Canada and 66 in South Africa, each read over the same 2 km radius, on the US EPA index. Rural land and unmeasured towns are not in it.
Coverage shapes the number
A country measured mostly in its capital reads differently from one measured across dozens of towns. South Africa rests on 66 cities against 59, so its average is the steadier of the two. Forest figures come from the University of Maryland's Global Forest Change maps.
Frequently asked
Canada vs South Africa: your questions answered
Is Canada cleaner than South Africa?
On air quality, yes, right now: Canada's cities average AQI 25 against 63 on the US EPA index. These are live readings averaged across cities, so the gap moves with the weather. At ground stations alone, which measure rather than estimate, the averages are Canada 24 (55 cities) and South Africa 68 (34 cities).
Which country has lost more forest, Canada or South Africa?
Canada has lost more: about 65.6 million ha of forest from 2001 to 2025, against 1.66 million ha in South Africa, or 40 times as much. 899,000 ha of Canada's was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns; the rest burned, was logged or can grow back.
Which country has more tree cover, Canada or South Africa?
Canada does: its measured cities average 33.1% tree cover against 21.8%, a gap of 11.3 percentage points.
How many cities are the Canada and South Africa figures based on?
59 measured cities in Canada and 66 in South Africa. Every one was read the same way, so the two averages are directly comparable, but a country with more measured cities has the more settled figure.
Why are there two air quality averages for each country?
The first covers every measured city, using a ground station where one is close and a model estimate everywhere else. The second counts only cities with a current station reading, which is measured rather than estimated but covers fewer places. Airleaf's world rankings use the station figures only.
Does this cover the whole of Canada and South Africa?
The air and tree figures are not: they are the cities Airleaf has measured, each over the same 2 km radius, so treat them as a comparison of urban air and urban tree cover. The forest figures are: they count every forest in the country.
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