Country comparison · 97 cities measured
South Africa vs Thailand Air quality index (AQI) and deforestation
South Africa has cleaner air than Thailand right now: its cities average AQI 59 against 62.
At ground stations alone, which measure rather than estimate, the averages are South Africa 60 (34 cities) and Thailand 67 (28 cities). Thailand has lost more forest since 2001. Thailand has more tree cover in its cities.
Average of 66 cities
AQI 59
Moderate
Cleaner on average
- At ground stations
- AQI 60
- Tree cover
- 21.8%
- Forest lost since 2001
- 1.66 million ha
Average of 31 cities
AQI 62
Moderate
Cleaner on average
- At ground stations
- AQI 67
- Tree cover
- 32.7%
- Forest lost since 2001
- 2.84 million ha
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
South Africa59Thailand62
Head to head
South Africa vs Thailand at a glance
South Africa and Thailand are level, each ahead on 3 of 6 measures. The better figure in each row is marked.
| South Africa | Thailand | |
|---|---|---|
| Average air qualityUS AQI, all measured cities. | 59 (better) | 62 |
| At ground stationsCities with a current station reading. | 60 (better) | 67 |
| Cities over AQI 100Not fine for sensitive groups. | 6% | 0% (better) |
| Forest lost since 2001The whole country. | 1.66 million ha (better) | 2.84 million ha |
| Share of its forest lostOf what it had in 2000. | 28% | 14% (better) |
| Average tree coverAcross its measured cities. | 21.8% | 32.7% (better) |
Air quality today
Is South Africa cleaner than Thailand?
On air quality, yes, right now. South Africa has cleaner air than Thailand right now: its cities average AQI 59 against 62.
At ground stations alone, which measure rather than estimate, the averages are South Africa 60 (34 cities) and Thailand 67 (28 cities).
6% of the measured cities in South Africa are over AQI 100 today, the point where the air stops being fine for sensitive groups, against 0% in Thailand.
How each country's cities split across the air quality bands
South Africa
- Good22 (33%)
- Moderate40 (61%)
- Unhealthy for sensitive groups4 (6%)
Thailand
- Good5 (16%)
- Moderate26 (84%)
Every measured city, including model estimates where no ground station is near.
Against everywhere else
How do South Africa and Thailand compare with other countries?
Right now the cities of South Africa average cleaner air than 40% of the 171 countries Airleaf has enough cities to average, and those of Thailand than 35%.
Cleaner air than…
- South Africa
- Beats 40%
- Thailand
- Beats 35%
More tree cover than…
- South Africa
- Beats 45%
- Thailand
- Beats 73%
Deforestation · 2001–2025
Which country has lost more forest, South Africa or Thailand?
Thailand has lost more: about 2.84 million ha of forest from 2001 to 2025, against 1.66 million ha in South Africa, or 1.7 times as much. 2.49 million ha of Thailand'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: 2006, with 105,000 ha lost.
Worst year: 2017, with 199,000 ha lost.
| South Africa | Thailand | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 1.66 million ha (better) | 2.84 million ha |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 28% | 14% (better) |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 169,000 ha (better) | 2.49 million ha |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Slowing down | Holding steady |
| Main known cause | Logging (77%) | Farms, pasture and plantations (86%) |
Trees
Which country has more tree cover, South Africa or Thailand?
Thailand does: its measured cities average 32.7% tree cover against 21.8%, a gap of 10.9 percentage points.
| South Africa | Thailand | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingSummed across measured cities. | 4.4M (better) | 3.0M |
| Cities below their targetShort of the canopy target. | 74% | 42% (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach those targets. | 2.1M | 286K (better) |
Behind the averages
The cities behind South Africa and Thailand
An average says nothing about how far apart the best and worst places are. These are the measured cities at each end.
Thailand
- Greenest measured city
- Kabin Buri64.4% tree cover
- Worst air right now
- Chon BuriAQI 85
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: 66 in South Africa and 31 in Thailand, 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 31, so its average is the steadier of the two. Forest figures come from the University of Maryland's Global Forest Change maps.
Frequently asked
South Africa vs Thailand: your questions answered
Is South Africa cleaner than Thailand?
On air quality, yes, right now: South Africa's cities average AQI 59 against 62 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 South Africa 60 (34 cities) and Thailand 67 (28 cities).
Which country has lost more forest, South Africa or Thailand?
Thailand has lost more: about 2.84 million ha of forest from 2001 to 2025, against 1.66 million ha in South Africa, or 1.7 times as much. 2.49 million ha of Thailand'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, South Africa or Thailand?
Thailand does: its measured cities average 32.7% tree cover against 21.8%, a gap of 10.9 percentage points.
How many cities are the South Africa and Thailand figures based on?
66 measured cities in South Africa and 31 in Thailand. 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 South Africa and Thailand?
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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