Karoo by Numbers

Plant species in the Karoo: About 6 000

Number of endemics (plants found nowhere else): About 2 400 (40%)

Number of arid zone biodiversity hotspots in the world: 2 (one is the Succulent Karoo. The other is the Horn of Africa)

Size of the Karoo? Around 400 000 sq km (a little larger than Germany)

Number of towns in the Karoo: About 100 (this includes sidings, hamlets and villages)

Number of provinces containing Karoo ecosystems: 4 (Eastern Cape, Western Cape, Northern Cape, Free State)

Number of countries with Karoo ecosystems: 2 (South Africa and Namibia)

Number of sizable towns in fracking areas? 34

Number of these towns that rely on groundwater? 31

Number of people living in the Karoo? About a million (including the Nama Karoo, the succulent Karoo and Little Karoo).

Number of farmworkers on Karoo farms? About 100 000

Amount sheep in the Karoo? About 7 million, about 4.3 million of which are woolled sheep

Wool produced in the Karoo every year: 13 million kilograms

Number of Angora goats in the Karoo: Around 670 000

Mohair produced in the Karoo every year: 2.4 million kilograms (more than half of the world’s mohair)

Red meat from the Karoo? About one third of South Africa’s needs.

Ostrich feathers are exported from the Karoo every year? About 15 tons, mostly to festivals and carnivals around the world.