Annual CO₂ emissions from wildfires in Democratic Republic of Congo
Democratic Republic of Congo: Annual CO₂ emissions from wildfires was 520.41 million tonnes in 2026. ▼ Falling
Annual CO₂ emissions from wildfires in Democratic Republic of Congo, 2003–2026
Source: Global Wildfire Information System (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.
Analysis
Democratic Republic of Congo recorded 520.41 million tonnes for annual co₂ emissions from wildfires in 2026.
That represents a change of up 29.1% on the previous year and down 28.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, annual co₂ emissions from wildfires in Democratic Republic of Congo peaked at 723.35 million tonnes in 2016 and was at its lowest, 403.26 million tonnes, in 2025.
That places Democratic Republic of Congo 2nd out of 248 countries with data for 2026, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 24 years of available data.
Annual CO₂ emissions from wildfires in Democratic Republic of Congo, year by year
| Year | tonnes | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 569.72 million tonnes | — |
| 2004 | 639.17 million tonnes | +12.2% |
| 2005 | 624.55 million tonnes | -2.3% |
| 2006 | 638.55 million tonnes | +2.2% |
| 2007 | 571.95 million tonnes | -10.4% |
| 2008 | 590.98 million tonnes | +3.3% |
| 2009 | 602.73 million tonnes | +2.0% |
| 2010 | 624.46 million tonnes | +3.6% |
| 2011 | 599.57 million tonnes | -4.0% |
| 2012 | 556.74 million tonnes | -7.1% |
| 2013 | 624.06 million tonnes | +12.1% |
| 2014 | 586.27 million tonnes | -6.1% |
| 2015 | 629.65 million tonnes | +7.4% |
| 2016 | 723.35 million tonnes | +14.9% |
| 2017 | 525.51 million tonnes | -27.4% |
| 2018 | 533.60 million tonnes | +1.5% |
| 2019 | 515.76 million tonnes | -3.3% |
| 2020 | 511.98 million tonnes | -0.7% |
| 2021 | 552.60 million tonnes | +7.9% |
| 2022 | 561.82 million tonnes | +1.7% |
| 2023 | 461.64 million tonnes | -17.8% |
| 2024 | 486.45 million tonnes | +5.4% |
| 2025 | 403.26 million tonnes | -17.1% |
| 2026 | 520.41 million tonnes | +29.1% |
Democratic Republic of Congo compared with similar countries
- Democratic Republic of Congo's 520.41 million tonnes is above the median for low income countries, which is 6.31 million tonnes, 82.4× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Democratic Republic of Congo's 520.41 million tonnes is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 8.74 million tonnes, 59.6× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 605.38 million tonnes | 569.72 million tonnes | 639.17 million tonnes | 7 |
| 2010s | 591.90 million tonnes | 515.76 million tonnes | 723.35 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2020s | 499.74 million tonnes | 403.26 million tonnes | 561.82 million tonnes | 7 |
Countries ranked near Democratic Republic of Congo
More climate change data for Democratic Republic of Congo
- Spring temperature anomalies 0.2047 °C (2026)
- Summer temperature anomalies 0.8778 °C (2026)
- Temperature anomalies by month 1.05 °C (2026)
- Share of global CO₂ emissions and population 4.2% (2100)
- Population, total, annual growth rate 3.25 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population, total, per unit of GDP 0.0012 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Urban population, annual growth rate 4.1 % change on previous year (2025)
- Urban population, per unit of GDP 0.0006 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Urban population, per capita 0.4511 units per person (2025)
- Precipitation anomalies, annual growth rate 28.16 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is annual co₂ emissions from wildfires in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- Annual co₂ emissions from wildfires in Democratic Republic of Congo was 520.41 million tonnes in 2026, according to Global Wildfire Information System (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest annual co₂ emissions from wildfires recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- The highest recorded value was 723.35 million tonnes in 2016.
- What is the lowest annual co₂ emissions from wildfires recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- The lowest recorded value was 403.26 million tonnes in 2025.
- How does Democratic Republic of Congo rank for annual co₂ emissions from wildfires?
- Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 2nd out of 248 countries with data for 2026.
- Is annual co₂ emissions from wildfires rising or falling in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- Over the last ten years it is down 28.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Democratic Republic of Congo data come from?
- The figures come from Global Wildfire Information System (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Annual CO₂ emissions from wildfires. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 24 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Carbon dioxide released by wildfires in tonnes. The 2026 data is incomplete and was last updated 18 September 2026.