Forest fires — Burned Area in China, mainland

China, mainland: Forest fires — Burned Area was 85,701 ha in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
85,701 ha
Change on year
down 23.1%
World rank
27th
of 219 countries
All-time high
292,128 ha
in 2008
All-time low
45,470 ha
in 2022
Years of data
35
1990–2024

Forest fires — Burned Area in China, mainland, 1990–2024

50.0k100.0k150.0k200.0k250.0k300.0k1990200720241990: 115.7k ha1991: 115.7k ha1992: 115.7k ha1993: 115.7k ha1994: 115.7k ha1995: 115.7k ha1996: 135.2k ha1997: 140.9k ha1998: 162.3k ha1999: 149.8k ha2000: 178.0k ha2001: 108.9k ha2002: 61.4k ha2003: 199.2k ha2004: 172.2k ha2005: 103.5k ha2006: 76.1k ha2007: 106.9k ha2008: 292.1k ha2009: 131.3k ha2010: 148.1k ha2011: 90.9k ha2012: 66.7k ha2013: 70.9k ha2014: 137.7k ha2015: 78.7k ha2016: 88.0k ha2017: 45.7k ha2018: 93.8k ha2019: 95.3k ha2020: 102.2k ha2021: 76.0k ha2022: 45.5k ha2023: 111.4k ha2024: 85.7k ha

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

Analysis

China, mainland recorded 85,701 ha for forest fires — burned area in 2024.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 23.1% on the previous year and down 37.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, forest fires — burned area in China, mainland peaked at 292,128 ha in 2008 and was at its lowest, 45,470 ha, in 2022.

China, mainland ranks 27th of 219 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 35 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 128,225 ha 115,670 ha 162,320 ha 10
2000s 142,969 ha 61,414 ha 292,128 ha 10
2010s 91,577 ha 45,712 ha 148,069 ha 10
2020s 84,145 ha 45,470 ha 111,387 ha 5

Countries ranked near China, mainland

  1. 24 Honduras 115,054 ha compare
  2. 25 Peru 112,510 ha compare
  3. 26 Cameroon 92,372 ha compare
  4. 27 China (People’s Republic of) 85,701 ha compare
  5. 29 Chad 83,816 ha compare
  6. 30 South Africa 68,512 ha compare

See the full ranking of 272 places →

More climate change data for China, mainland

All data for China, mainland →

Frequently asked questions

What is forest fires — burned area in China, mainland?
Forest fires — burned area in China, mainland was 85,701 ha in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
What is the highest forest fires — burned area recorded in China, mainland?
The highest recorded value was 292,128 ha in 2008.
What is the lowest forest fires — burned area recorded in China, mainland?
The lowest recorded value was 45,470 ha in 2022.
How does China, mainland rank for forest fires — burned area?
China, mainland ranks 27th out of 219 countries with data for 2024.
Is forest fires — burned area rising or falling in China, mainland?
Over the last ten years it is down 37.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this China, mainland 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 China, mainland. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 21 August 2026, from https://climate.statizoid.com/stat/forest-fires-burned-area-fao-tier-1/china-mainland/

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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.