Forest fires — Burned Area in Ghana

Ghana: Forest fires — Burned Area was 9,705 ha in 2024. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2024)
9,705 ha
Change on year
up 48.9%
World rank
51st
of 214 countries
All-time high
113,851 ha
in 1998
All-time low
491.62 ha
in 2009
Years of data
35
1990–2024

Forest fires — Burned Area in Ghana, 1990–2024

025.0k50.0k75.0k100.0k125.0k1990200720241990: 15.9k ha1991: 15.9k ha1992: 15.9k ha1993: 15.9k ha1994: 15.9k ha1995: 15.9k ha1996: 12.9k ha1997: 43.9k ha1998: 113.9k ha1999: 63.6k ha2000: 70.9k ha2001: 12.4k ha2002: 3.6k ha2003: 2.7k ha2004: 2.9k ha2005: 3.0k ha2006: 10.3k ha2007: 7.4k ha2008: 2.9k ha2009: 491.6 ha2010: 1.6k ha2011: 4.7k ha2012: 4.7k ha2013: 2.8k ha2014: 1.6k ha2015: 1.8k ha2016: 12.9k ha2017: 2.0k ha2018: 1.2k ha2019: 8.8k ha2020: 37.7k ha2021: 2.4k ha2022: 11.8k ha2023: 6.5k ha2024: 9.7k ha

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

Analysis

The most recent figure for forest fires — burned area in Ghana is 9,705 ha, measured in 2024.

The figure is up 48.9% on the previous year and up 522.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, forest fires — burned area in Ghana peaked at 113,851 ha in 1998 and was at its lowest, 491.62 ha, in 2009.

That places Ghana 51st out of 214 countries 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 32,959 ha 12,894 ha 113,851 ha 10
2000s 11,665 ha 491.62 ha 70,884 ha 10
2010s 4,198 ha 1,176 ha 12,910 ha 10
2020s 13,624 ha 2,373 ha 37,683 ha 5

Countries ranked near Ghana

  1. 48 Malaysia 12,588 ha compare
  2. 49 Suriname 12,033 ha compare
  3. 50 Chile 11,277 ha compare
  4. 52 Sierra Leone 9,320 ha compare
  5. 53 Papua New Guinea 8,699 ha compare
  6. 54 Cuba 8,671 ha compare

See the full ranking of 272 places →

More climate change data for Ghana

All data for Ghana →

Frequently asked questions

What is forest fires — burned area in Ghana?
Forest fires — burned area in Ghana was 9,705 ha in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
What is the highest forest fires — burned area recorded in Ghana?
The highest recorded value was 113,851 ha in 1998.
What is the lowest forest fires — burned area recorded in Ghana?
The lowest recorded value was 491.62 ha in 2009.
How does Ghana rank for forest fires — burned area?
Ghana ranks 51st out of 214 countries with data for 2024.
Is forest fires — burned area rising or falling in Ghana?
Over the last ten years it is up 522.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Ghana 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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CSV · JSON — 35 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO).

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Forest fires — Burned Area in Ghana. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 17 August 2026, from https://climate.statizoid.com/stat/forest-fires-burned-area-fao-tier-1/ghana/

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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.