It has two distinct subspecies, but only populations of the southern white rhino ( Ceratotherium simum simum) remain viable. The white rhino, along with the roughly equal-sized greater one-horned rhino, is the largest land mammal after the elephant. The population has decreased by almost 12% in the last four years, from an estimated 18,067 to fewer than 16,000 today.

White rhinos are decreasing primarily due to poaching losses. Now that travel has reopened, poaching is on the rise again. During 2020, when governments implemented COVID mitigation measures, including lockdowns, there was a significant reduction in poaching – from 3.9% of the continental population in 2018 to 2.3% in 2021. Since 2017, there have been 2,707 recorded rhino poaching incidents in Africa, 90% of which took place in South Africa. Poaching remains the greatest threat to African rhinos. The overall number has decreased 6%, from 23,562, since the last Specialist Group report in 2017. The African Rhino Specialist Group (AfRSG) of the IUCN’s Species Survival Commission (SSC) released a report in 2022, The African and Asian Rhinoceroses – Status, Conservation and Trade, which estimates there are currently 22,137 rhinos in Africa: 6,195 black rhinos and 15,942 white rhinos. Not all countries report population numbers or poaching data. The two African rhino species, white ( Ceratotherium simum) and black ( Diceros bicornis), are found in fifteen countries: Angola, Botswana, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, eSwatini, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The total worldwide rhino population is estimated to be fewer than 27,000. Illegal trade in rhino horn continued to drive poaching, with an estimated 1,000 rhino horns traded each year.Africa’s black rhino population grew across the continent.Africa’s white rhino population, under pressure from poaching, continued to decline.Experts estimated a 13% decline for Sumatran rhinos.The world’s last remaining population of Javan rhinos remained stable but faced threats including human encroachment and insufficient habitat.The greater one-horned rhino population surpassed 4,000 individuals in India and Nepal.Key takeaways from the 2022 State of the Rhino report: Over the past decade alone, IRF has invested more than $20 million in rhino conservation and research. Through grants and field programs, IRF has funded rhino conservation efforts in ten countries in its 31-year history, focusing on scientific research, anti-poaching, habitat and population management, conservation breeding, community support, wildlife crime investigation, legal training and support to fight illegal wildlife trade, environmental education and demand reduction. Every September, the International Rhino Foundation (IRF) publishes our signature report, State of the Rhino, which documents current population estimates and trends, where available, as well as key challenges and conservation developments for the five surviving rhino species in Africa and Asia.

Javan rhinoceros population 2022