Four range States conserve the largest proportion of the continent’s white rhinos: South Africa (81.3%), Namibia (7.7%), Kenya (5.5%) and Zimbabwe (2.6%).Since 2012, white rhino numbers on the continent have declined by 25.2%. There are an estimated 15,942 white rhinos in Africa, 11.8% lower than the 18,067 individuals at the end of 2017.Most recent population stats for African rhinos In summary: Poaching rates are based on the number of detected carcasses, adjusted for imperfect carcass detection. All numerical data, such as population counts, should be considered estimates within a confidence interval unless otherwise stated.

Though the report contains information about African and Asian rhino species, we focus purely on the data for African species. This article summarises the report’s main findings on population numbers and poaching statistics, which are accurate up until the end of 2021. The resultant report’s 90 pages contain the most up-to-date and comprehensive analysis of rhino numbers, trends, poaching incidents, conservation measures and trade at a national and international level. In preparation, the African and Asian Rhino Specialist Groups of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and non-governmental trade monitoring organisation TRAFFIC were tasked with compiling a report on the status of the world’s rhinoceros species. In November 2022, the 19th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP19) to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wildlife Fauna and Flora (CITES) will be held in Panama. Rhino Specialist Groups of the IUCN & TRAFFIC have compiled a report containing the most up-to-date and comprehensive analysis of rhino numbers, trends, poaching incidents, conservation measures and trade at a national and international level.

South central black rhinoceros