Australia and New Zealand vs United States of America: Forest fires — Burned Area

Australia and New Zealand
126,361 ha
in 2024
United States of America
314,391 ha
in 2024
Australia and New Zealand rank
20th
United States of America rank
17th

Forest fires — Burned Area over time

  • Australia and New Zealand
  • United States of America
01.0M2.0M3.0M199020072024

How they compare

United States of America currently reports 314,391 ha against 126,361 ha in Australia and New Zealand, a difference of 188,030 ha.

That makes United States of America's figure about 2.5 times Australia and New Zealand's.

The two have swapped places 13 times across 35 shared years of data; in 1990 it was Australia and New Zealand ahead.

Australia and New Zealand ranks 20th and United States of America ranks 17th of 219 countries.

Across the 4 decades both report, Australia and New Zealand averaged higher in 3 and United States of America in 1.

Head to head by decade

Decade Australia and New Zealand United States of America Difference Ahead
1990s 605,507 ha 309,697 ha 295,810 ha Australia and New Zealand
2000s 492,137 ha 270,492 ha 221,645 ha Australia and New Zealand
2010s 578,427 ha 303,477 ha 274,951 ha Australia and New Zealand
2020s 445,343 ha 487,438 ha 42,095 ha United States of America

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher forest fires — burned area, Australia and New Zealand or United States of America?
United States of America, at 314,391 ha against 126,361 ha in Australia and New Zealand as of 2024.
What is the difference in forest fires — burned area between Australia and New Zealand and United States of America?
188,030 ha, with United States of America ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Australia and New Zealand and United States of America?
35 years are reported by both, from 1990 to 2024.
How do Australia and New Zealand and United States of America rank globally for forest fires — burned area?
Australia and New Zealand ranks 20th and United States of America ranks 17th of 219 countries.
Where does this data come from?
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as Forest fires — Burned Area. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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Australia and New Zealand vs United States of America: Forest fires — Burned Area. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 18 September 2026, from https://climate.statizoid.com/compare/forest-fires-burned-area-fao-tier-1/australia-and-new-zealand/united-states-of-america/

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About this data

Indicator
Forest fires — Burned Area
Unit
ha
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)
Coverage
272 places, 9,294 data points, 1990–2024
Last refreshed

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.