Mexico vs South America: Forest fires — Burned Area
Mexico
557,291 ha
in 2024
South America
11.91 million ha
in 2024
Mexico rank
10th
South America rank
7th
Forest fires — Burned Area over time
- Mexico
- South America
How they compare
South America currently reports 11.91 million ha against 557,291 ha in Mexico, a difference of 11.35 million ha.
That makes South America's figure about 21.4 times Mexico's.
Across all 35 years both countries report, South America has been ahead every year.
Mexico ranks 10th and South America ranks 7th of 219 countries.
South America has averaged higher in every one of the 4 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Mexico | South America | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 354,851 ha | 3.29 million ha | 2.94 million ha | South America |
| 2000s | 315,969 ha | 3.50 million ha | 3.19 million ha | South America |
| 2010s | 265,096 ha | 3.03 million ha | 2.77 million ha | South America |
| 2020s | 348,574 ha | 5.52 million ha | 5.17 million ha | South America |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher forest fires — burned area, Mexico or South America?
- South America, at 11.91 million ha against 557,291 ha in Mexico as of 2024.
- What is the difference in forest fires — burned area between Mexico and South America?
- 11.35 million ha, with South America ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Mexico and South America?
- 35 years are reported by both, from 1990 to 2024.
- How do Mexico and South America rank globally for forest fires — burned area?
- Mexico ranks 10th and South America ranks 7th 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.
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.