Closed and open shrubland — Burned Area in Australia
Australia: Closed and open shrubland — Burned Area was 12.02 million ha in 2024. ◆ Volatile
Closed and open shrubland — Burned Area in Australia, 1990–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in ha.
Analysis
Australia recorded 12.02 million ha for closed and open shrubland — burned area in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 73.6% on the previous year and down 33.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, closed and open shrubland — burned area in Australia peaked at 51.00 million ha in 2011 and was at its lowest, 2.50 million ha, in 2020.
That places Australia 2nd out of 219 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Closed and open shrubland — Burned Area in Australia, year by year
| Year | ha | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 20.59 million ha | — |
| 1991 | 20.59 million ha | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 20.59 million ha | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 20.59 million ha | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 20.59 million ha | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 20.59 million ha | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 14.00 million ha | -32.0% |
| 1997 | 14.39 million ha | +2.8% |
| 1998 | 17.20 million ha | +19.5% |
| 1999 | 32.09 million ha | +86.6% |
| 2000 | 39.32 million ha | +22.6% |
| 2001 | 45.53 million ha | +15.8% |
| 2002 | 44.53 million ha | -2.2% |
| 2003 | 7.48 million ha | -83.2% |
| 2004 | 22.69 million ha | +203.3% |
| 2005 | 5.51 million ha | -75.7% |
| 2006 | 24.14 million ha | +337.9% |
| 2007 | 22.19 million ha | -8.1% |
| 2008 | 8.65 million ha | -61.0% |
| 2009 | 9.17 million ha | +5.9% |
| 2010 | 4.93 million ha | -46.3% |
| 2011 | 51.00 million ha | +935.5% |
| 2012 | 47.37 million ha | -7.1% |
| 2013 | 8.88 million ha | -81.2% |
| 2014 | 18.10 million ha | +103.8% |
| 2015 | 18.02 million ha | -0.4% |
| 2016 | 6.12 million ha | -66.0% |
| 2017 | 26.44 million ha | +332.1% |
| 2018 | 22.91 million ha | -13.4% |
| 2019 | 10.48 million ha | -54.3% |
| 2020 | 2.50 million ha | -76.1% |
| 2021 | 6.74 million ha | +169.1% |
| 2022 | 9.32 million ha | +38.4% |
| 2023 | 45.51 million ha | +388.0% |
| 2024 | 12.02 million ha | -73.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 20.12 million ha | 14.00 million ha | 32.09 million ha | 10 |
| 2000s | 22.92 million ha | 5.51 million ha | 45.53 million ha | 10 |
| 2010s | 21.42 million ha | 4.93 million ha | 51.00 million ha | 10 |
| 2020s | 15.22 million ha | 2.50 million ha | 45.51 million ha | 5 |
Countries ranked near Australia
- 1 OECD 12.17 million ha compare
- 2 Australia and New Zealand 12.02 million ha compare
- 4 Russian Federation 1.02 million ha compare
- 5 Botswana 939,936 ha compare
More climate change data for Australia
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 118,578 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 34,162 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 84,416 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 128.91 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 3,015 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 12,473 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 10,966 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 1,507 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 41.38 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 53.82 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is closed and open shrubland — burned area in Australia?
- Closed and open shrubland — burned area in Australia was 12.02 million ha in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest closed and open shrubland — burned area recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 51.00 million ha in 2011.
- What is the lowest closed and open shrubland — burned area recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.50 million ha in 2020.
- How does Australia rank for closed and open shrubland — burned area?
- Australia ranks 2nd out of 219 countries with data for 2024.
- Is closed and open shrubland — burned area rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 33.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Closed and open shrubland — Burned Area. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 35 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO).
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.