Southern Africa
What three decades of fine-particle exposure estimates show in Southern Africa
South Africa and Lesotho had the highest estimated average exposure to fine outdoor particles among six Southern African countries in 2023. Botswana and Mozambique had the lowest. The series weights pollution concentrations by where people live.
Sources checked
2023
Shared scale · 0 µg/m³ to 28.54 µg/m³
2000
Shared scale · 0 µg/m³ to 28.54 µg/m³
PM2.5 is measured in micrograms per cubic metre. Estimates weight concentrations by population.
The 2023 country averages fell into three groups
The six estimates were 27.72 µg/m³ in South Africa, 26.44 in Lesotho, 20.24 in Zambia, 14.23 in Namibia, 13.72 in Mozambique and 13.24 in Botswana. These figures summarize a national population’s exposure to outdoor fine particles. They do not identify the highest or lowest city readings. Source 1
The long-run comparison shows different directions
South Africa rose from 23.61 µg/m³ in 2000 to 27.72 in 2023. Botswana moved from 17.43 to 13.24, and Mozambique from 16.41 to 13.72. These changes compare national annual estimates at two dates and do not describe a steady increase or decline each year. Source 1
The 2022 to 2023 changes were sizable in several series
Lesotho moved from 30.76 to 26.44 µg/m³ and Zambia from 23.49 to 20.24. Namibia fell from 16.70 to 14.23. A one-year decline is an observation in the modelled series. This dataset does not identify which emissions sources, weather conditions or other factors drove it. Source 1
Population weighting differs from averaging across the map
The indicator gives more weight to estimated concentrations where more people live, in both urban and rural areas. A location with little population has less influence on the national exposure average. The measure covers ambient PM2.5 and differs from a daily monitoring station result or an indoor exposure estimate. Source 2