Country comparison · 537 cities measured
India vs South Africa Air quality index (AQI) and deforestation
South Africa has cleaner air than India right now: its cities average AQI 63 against 152.
At ground stations alone, which measure rather than estimate, the averages are India 165 (219 cities) and South Africa 68 (34 cities). India has lost more forest since 2001. India has more tree cover in its cities.
Average of 471 cities
AQI 152
Unhealthy
Cleaner on average
- At ground stations
- AQI 165
- Tree cover
- 27.3%
- Forest lost since 2001
- 2.6 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.
India152South Africa63
Head to head
India vs South Africa at a glance
South Africa is ahead on 4 of 6 measures, and India on 2. The better figure in each row is marked.
| India | South Africa | |
|---|---|---|
| Average air qualityUS AQI, all measured cities. | 152 | 63 (better) |
| At ground stationsCities with a current station reading. | 165 | 68 (better) |
| Cities over AQI 100Not fine for sensitive groups. | 75% | 6% (better) |
| Forest lost since 2001The whole country. | 2.6 million ha | 1.66 million ha (better) |
| Share of its forest lostOf what it had in 2000. | 6.7% (better) | 28% |
| Average tree coverAcross its measured cities. | 27.3% (better) | 21.8% |
Air quality today
Is South Africa cleaner than India?
On air quality, yes, right now. South Africa has cleaner air than India right now: its cities average AQI 63 against 152.
At ground stations alone, which measure rather than estimate, the averages are India 165 (219 cities) and South Africa 68 (34 cities).
75% of the measured cities in India 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
India
- Good4 (1%)
- Moderate113 (24%)
- Unhealthy for sensitive groups116 (25%)
- Unhealthy181 (38%)
- Very unhealthy34 (7%)
- Hazardous23 (5%)
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 India and South Africa compare with other countries?
Right now the cities of India average cleaner air than 2% of the 171 countries Airleaf has enough cities to average, and those of South Africa than 32%.
Cleaner air than…
- India
- Beats 2%
- South Africa
- Beats 32%
More tree cover than…
- India
- Beats 59%
- South Africa
- Beats 45%
Deforestation · 2001–2025
Which country has lost more forest, India or South Africa?
India has lost more: about 2.6 million ha of forest from 2001 to 2025, against 1.66 million ha in South Africa, or 1.6 times as much. 730,000 ha of India'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: 2017, with 190,000 ha lost.
Worst year: 2006, with 105,000 ha lost.
| India | South Africa | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 2.6 million ha | 1.66 million ha (better) |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 6.7% (better) | 28% |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 730,000 ha | 169,000 ha (better) |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Holding steady | Slowing down |
| Main known cause | Shifting farming (59%) | Logging (77%) |
Trees
Which country has more tree cover, India or South Africa?
India does: its measured cities average 27.3% tree cover against 21.8%, a gap of 5.4 percentage points.
| India | South Africa | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingSummed across measured cities. | 39.1M (better) | 4.4M |
| Cities below their targetShort of the canopy target. | 77% | 73% (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach those targets. | 19.0M | 2.2M (better) |
Behind the averages
The cities behind India 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.
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: 471 in India 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. India rests on 471 cities against 66, so its average is the steadier of the two. Forest figures come from the University of Maryland's Global Forest Change maps.
Frequently asked
India vs South Africa: your questions answered
Is South Africa cleaner than India?
On air quality, yes, right now: South Africa's cities average AQI 63 against 152 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 India 165 (219 cities) and South Africa 68 (34 cities).
Which country has lost more forest, India or South Africa?
India has lost more: about 2.6 million ha of forest from 2001 to 2025, against 1.66 million ha in South Africa, or 1.6 times as much. 730,000 ha of India'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, India or South Africa?
India does: its measured cities average 27.3% tree cover against 21.8%, a gap of 5.4 percentage points.
How many cities are the India and South Africa figures based on?
471 measured cities in India 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 India 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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