Forest fires — Burned Area in Africa
Africa: Forest fires — Burned Area was 14.56 million ha in 2024. ▲ Rising
Forest fires — Burned Area in Africa, 1990–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in ha.
Analysis
In 2024, forest fires — burned area in Africa stood at 14.56 million ha.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 7.0% on the previous year and down 28.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, forest fires — burned area in Africa peaked at 23.57 million ha in 2010 and was at its lowest, 7.09 million ha, in 1996.
That places Africa 4th out of 31 groups with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 35 years of available data.
Forest fires — Burned Area in Africa, year by year
| Year | ha | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 17.97 million ha | — |
| 1991 | 17.97 million ha | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 17.97 million ha | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 17.97 million ha | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 17.97 million ha | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 17.97 million ha | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 7.09 million ha | -60.5% |
| 1997 | 8.37 million ha | +18.0% |
| 1998 | 11.01 million ha | +31.6% |
| 1999 | 10.09 million ha | -8.3% |
| 2000 | 7.57 million ha | -25.0% |
| 2001 | 15.66 million ha | +106.9% |
| 2002 | 15.12 million ha | -3.5% |
| 2003 | 20.57 million ha | +36.1% |
| 2004 | 19.82 million ha | -3.6% |
| 2005 | 22.52 million ha | +13.6% |
| 2006 | 19.83 million ha | -11.9% |
| 2007 | 20.16 million ha | +1.7% |
| 2008 | 21.20 million ha | +5.1% |
| 2009 | 19.18 million ha | -9.5% |
| 2010 | 23.57 million ha | +22.9% |
| 2011 | 23.09 million ha | -2.0% |
| 2012 | 23.41 million ha | +1.4% |
| 2013 | 21.68 million ha | -7.4% |
| 2014 | 20.37 million ha | -6.1% |
| 2015 | 21.64 million ha | +6.3% |
| 2016 | 22.65 million ha | +4.7% |
| 2017 | 22.44 million ha | -0.9% |
| 2018 | 19.95 million ha | -11.1% |
| 2019 | 20.45 million ha | +2.5% |
| 2020 | 19.22 million ha | -6.0% |
| 2021 | 18.13 million ha | -5.7% |
| 2022 | 16.27 million ha | -10.2% |
| 2023 | 13.61 million ha | -16.4% |
| 2024 | 14.56 million ha | +7.0% |
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Forest fires — Burned Area in Africa changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | +106.9% | 7.57 million ha | 15.66 million ha |
| 1996 | -60.5% | 17.97 million ha | 7.09 million ha |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 14.44 million ha | 7.09 million ha | 17.97 million ha | 10 |
| 2000s | 18.16 million ha | 7.57 million ha | 22.52 million ha | 10 |
| 2010s | 21.93 million ha | 19.95 million ha | 23.57 million ha | 10 |
| 2020s | 16.36 million ha | 13.61 million ha | 19.22 million ha | 5 |
Countries ranked near Africa
- 1 Brazil 5.28 million ha compare
- 2 Zambia 2.93 million ha compare
- 3 Bolivia (Plurinational State of) 5.92 million ha compare
- 3 Central African Republic 2.42 million ha compare
- 4 Mozambique 2.26 million ha compare
- 5 Angola 1.85 million ha compare
- 5 Democratic Republic of the Congo 3.50 million ha compare
- 6 Lao People's Democratic Republic 481,396 ha compare
- 6 OECD 1.77 million ha compare
- 7 Myanmar 1.29 million ha compare
- 7 United Republic of Tanzania 414,900 ha compare
More climate change data for Africa
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Synthetic fertilizers (Agricultural) 7.12 billion kg (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 778,093 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 263,963 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 514,131 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 996.09 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 18,362 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 114,526 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 60,368 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 54,158 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 227.81 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is forest fires — burned area in Africa?
- Forest fires — burned area in Africa was 14.56 million ha in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest forest fires — burned area recorded in Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 23.57 million ha in 2010.
- What is the lowest forest fires — burned area recorded in Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 7.09 million ha in 1996.
- How does Africa rank for forest fires — burned area?
- Africa ranks 4th out of 31 groups with data for 2024.
- Is forest fires — burned area rising or falling in Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 28.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Africa data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Forest fires — 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.