Australia vs South Africa: Closed shrubland — Burned Area
Australia
307,633 ha
in 2024
South Africa
36,154 ha
in 2024
Australia rank
2nd
South Africa rank
5th
Closed shrubland — Burned Area over time
- Australia
- South Africa
How they compare
Australia currently reports 307,633 ha against 36,154 ha in South Africa, a difference of 271,479 ha.
That makes Australia's figure about 8.5 times South Africa's.
Across all 35 years both countries report, Australia has been ahead every year.
Australia ranks 2nd and South Africa ranks 5th of 219 countries.
Australia has averaged higher in every one of the 4 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Australia | South Africa | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 761,793 ha | 150,021 ha | 611,772 ha | Australia |
| 2000s | 1.44 million ha | 84,814 ha | 1.36 million ha | Australia |
| 2010s | 1.11 million ha | 70,058 ha | 1.04 million ha | Australia |
| 2020s | 657,405 ha | 28,813 ha | 628,592 ha | Australia |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher closed shrubland — burned area, Australia or South Africa?
- Australia, at 307,633 ha against 36,154 ha in South Africa as of 2024.
- What is the difference in closed shrubland — burned area between Australia and South Africa?
- 271,479 ha, with Australia ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Australia and South Africa?
- 35 years are reported by both, from 1990 to 2024.
- How do Australia and South Africa rank globally for closed shrubland — burned area?
- Australia ranks 2nd and South Africa ranks 5th of 219 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as Closed shrubland — Burned Area. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
The FAOSTAT domain on Emissions from Fires consists of estimates of methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O) and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions generated from biomass burning in a range of vegetation types and from fires in organic soils.