Forest fires — Burned Area in Malawi
Malawi: Forest fires — Burned Area was 43,559 ha in 2024. ▲ Rising
Forest fires — Burned Area in Malawi, 1990–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in ha.
Analysis
In 2024, forest fires — burned area in Malawi stood at 43,559 ha.
The figure is up 35.2% on the previous year and down 55.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, forest fires — burned area in Malawi peaked at 132,133 ha in 2010 and was at its lowest, 4,512 ha, in 2000.
That places Malawi 34th out of 219 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 35 years of available data.
Forest fires — Burned Area in Malawi, year by year
| Year | ha | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 64,772 ha | — |
| 1991 | 64,772 ha | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 64,772 ha | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 64,772 ha | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 64,772 ha | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 64,772 ha | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 22,138 ha | -65.8% |
| 1997 | 13,482 ha | -39.1% |
| 1998 | 17,766 ha | +31.8% |
| 1999 | 16,374 ha | -7.8% |
| 2000 | 4,512 ha | -72.4% |
| 2001 | 54,709 ha | +1112.6% |
| 2002 | 50,536 ha | -7.6% |
| 2003 | 92,063 ha | +82.2% |
| 2004 | 66,575 ha | -27.7% |
| 2005 | 104,266 ha | +56.6% |
| 2006 | 51,413 ha | -50.7% |
| 2007 | 71,854 ha | +39.8% |
| 2008 | 79,980 ha | +11.3% |
| 2009 | 37,570 ha | -53.0% |
| 2010 | 132,133 ha | +251.7% |
| 2011 | 79,721 ha | -39.7% |
| 2012 | 123,130 ha | +54.5% |
| 2013 | 78,904 ha | -35.9% |
| 2014 | 98,111 ha | +24.3% |
| 2015 | 94,772 ha | -3.4% |
| 2016 | 127,684 ha | +34.7% |
| 2017 | 60,111 ha | -52.9% |
| 2018 | 77,113 ha | +28.3% |
| 2019 | 54,014 ha | -30.0% |
| 2020 | 70,013 ha | +29.6% |
| 2021 | 44,776 ha | -36.0% |
| 2022 | 78,889 ha | +76.2% |
| 2023 | 32,224 ha | -59.2% |
| 2024 | 43,559 ha | +35.2% |
Malawi compared with similar countries
- Malawi's 43,559 ha is above the median for low income countries, which is 1,988 ha, 21.9× the median. (22 countries reporting)
- Malawi's 43,559 ha is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 3,274 ha, 13.3× the median. (44 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Forest fires — Burned Area in Malawi 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 | +1112.6% | 4,512 ha | 54,709 ha |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 45,839 ha | 13,482 ha | 64,772 ha | 10 |
| 2000s | 61,348 ha | 4,512 ha | 104,266 ha | 10 |
| 2010s | 92,569 ha | 54,014 ha | 132,133 ha | 10 |
| 2020s | 53,892 ha | 32,224 ha | 78,889 ha | 5 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
More climate change data for Malawi
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Synthetic fertilizers (Agricultural) 415.04 million kg (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 4,106 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 1,605 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 2,501 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 6.06 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 89.31 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 3,185 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 2,819 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 366.56 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 10.64 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is forest fires — burned area in Malawi?
- Forest fires — burned area in Malawi was 43,559 ha in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest forest fires — burned area recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 132,133 ha in 2010.
- What is the lowest forest fires — burned area recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 4,512 ha in 2000.
- How does Malawi rank for forest fires — burned area?
- Malawi ranks 34th out of 219 countries with data for 2024.
- Is forest fires — burned area rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is down 55.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Malawi 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.