Forest fires — Burned Area in Central America

Central America: Forest fires — Burned Area was 894,944 ha in 2024. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2024)
894,944 ha
Change on year
up 76.0%
Rank
11th
of 46 groups
All-time high
1.29 million ha
in 2003
All-time low
118,604 ha
in 2004
Years of data
35
1990–2024

Forest fires — Burned Area in Central America, 1990–2024

0250.0k500.0k750.0k1.0M1.2M1990200720241990: 477.4k ha1991: 477.4k ha1992: 477.4k ha1993: 477.4k ha1994: 477.4k ha1995: 477.4k ha1996: 257.6k ha1997: 290.6k ha1998: 1.2M ha1999: 605.3k ha2000: 700.7k ha2001: 149.1k ha2002: 328.3k ha2003: 1.3M ha2004: 118.6k ha2005: 837.5k ha2006: 388.1k ha2007: 371.0k ha2008: 385.2k ha2009: 458.1k ha2010: 242.3k ha2011: 624.3k ha2012: 220.0k ha2013: 607.8k ha2014: 148.8k ha2015: 301.9k ha2016: 382.5k ha2017: 444.0k ha2018: 243.0k ha2019: 570.5k ha2020: 683.2k ha2021: 290.2k ha2022: 270.4k ha2023: 508.4k ha2024: 894.9k ha

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

Analysis

In 2024, forest fires — burned area in Central America stood at 894,944 ha.

The figure is up 76.0% on the previous year and up 501.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, forest fires — burned area in Central America peaked at 1.29 million ha in 2003 and was at its lowest, 118,604 ha, in 2004.

That places Central America 11th out of 46 groups with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 525,025 ha 257,556 ha 1.23 million ha 10
2000s 502,619 ha 118,604 ha 1.29 million ha 10
2010s 378,505 ha 148,753 ha 624,308 ha 10
2020s 529,426 ha 270,400 ha 894,944 ha 5

Countries ranked near Central America

  1. 8 Russian Federation 723,318 ha compare
  2. 9 Canada 717,855 ha compare
  3. 10 Mexico 557,291 ha compare
  4. 11 India 523,649 ha compare
  5. 12 Cambodia 470,662 ha compare
  6. 13 Nepal 363,091 ha compare
  7. 14 Thailand 362,523 ha compare

See the full ranking of 272 places →

More climate change data for Central America

All data for Central America →

Frequently asked questions

What is forest fires — burned area in Central America?
Forest fires — burned area in Central America was 894,944 ha in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
What is the highest forest fires — burned area recorded in Central America?
The highest recorded value was 1.29 million ha in 2003.
What is the lowest forest fires — burned area recorded in Central America?
The lowest recorded value was 118,604 ha in 2004.
How does Central America rank for forest fires — burned area?
Central America ranks 11th out of 46 groups with data for 2024.
Is forest fires — burned area rising or falling in Central America?
Over the last ten years it is up 501.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Central America 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.

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Forest fires — Burned Area in Central America. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 20 August 2026, from https://climate.statizoid.com/stat/forest-fires-burned-area-fao-tier-1/central-america/

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About this data

Indicator
Forest fires — Burned Area
Unit
ha
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)
Coverage
272 places, 9,294 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.