Closed shrubland — Burned Area in Australia

Australia: Closed shrubland — Burned Area was 307,633 ha in 2024. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2024)
307,633 ha
Change on year
down 65.1%
World rank
2nd
of 213 countries
All-time high
2.79 million ha
in 2001
All-time low
266,505 ha
in 1997
Years of data
35
1990–2024

Closed shrubland — Burned Area in Australia, 1990–2024

01.0M2.0M3.0M1990200720241990: 1.0M ha1991: 1.0M ha1992: 1.0M ha1993: 1.0M ha1994: 1.0M ha1995: 1.0M ha1996: 337.0k ha1997: 266.5k ha1998: 328.3k ha1999: 437.2k ha2000: 488.3k ha2001: 2.8M ha2002: 1.5M ha2003: 793.2k ha2004: 1.5M ha2005: 1.1M ha2006: 1.2M ha2007: 2.2M ha2008: 1.2M ha2009: 1.5M ha2010: 487.3k ha2011: 909.5k ha2012: 2.0M ha2013: 1.2M ha2014: 1.6M ha2015: 1.3M ha2016: 659.4k ha2017: 619.1k ha2018: 1.2M ha2019: 1.1M ha2020: 497.0k ha2021: 778.0k ha2022: 823.4k ha2023: 881.0k ha2024: 307.6k ha

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in ha.

Analysis

The most recent figure for closed shrubland — burned area in Australia is 307,633 ha, measured in 2024.

That represents a change of down 65.1% on the previous year and down 81.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, closed shrubland — burned area in Australia peaked at 2.79 million ha in 2001 and was at its lowest, 266,505 ha, in 1997.

That places Australia 2nd out of 213 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.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 761,793 ha 266,505 ha 1.04 million ha 10
2000s 1.44 million ha 488,259 ha 2.79 million ha 10
2010s 1.11 million ha 487,328 ha 1.95 million ha 10
2020s 657,405 ha 307,633 ha 880,976 ha 5

Countries ranked near Australia

  1. 1 OECD 330,833 ha compare
  2. 2 Australia and New Zealand 307,633 ha compare
  3. 4 Angola 266,628 ha compare
  4. 5 South Africa 36,154 ha compare

See the full ranking of 271 places →

More climate change data for Australia

All data for Australia →

Frequently asked questions

What is closed shrubland — burned area in Australia?
Closed shrubland — burned area in Australia was 307,633 ha in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
What is the highest closed shrubland — burned area recorded in Australia?
The highest recorded value was 2.79 million ha in 2001.
What is the lowest closed shrubland — burned area recorded in Australia?
The lowest recorded value was 266,505 ha in 1997.
How does Australia rank for closed shrubland — burned area?
Australia ranks 2nd out of 213 countries with data for 2024.
Is closed shrubland — burned area rising or falling in Australia?
Over the last ten years it is down 81.0%. 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 shrubland — Burned Area. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Closed shrubland — Burned Area in Australia. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 20 August 2026, from https://climate.statizoid.com/stat/closed-shrubland-burned-area-fao-tier-1/australia/

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About this data

Indicator
Closed shrubland — Burned Area
Unit
ha
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)
Coverage
271 places, 9,259 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.