Forest fires — Burned Area in World
World: Forest fires — Burned Area was 33.12 million ha in 2024. ▲ Rising
Forest fires — Burned Area in World, 1990–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in ha.
Analysis
The most recent figure for forest fires — burned area in World is 33.12 million ha, measured in 2024.
The figure is up 29.2% on the previous year and up 8.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, forest fires — burned area in World peaked at 40.46 million ha in 2010 and was at its lowest, 13.38 million ha, in 2000.
That places World 1st 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 World, year by year
| Year | ha | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 29.21 million ha | — |
| 1991 | 29.21 million ha | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 29.21 million ha | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 29.21 million ha | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 29.21 million ha | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 29.21 million ha | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 15.26 million ha | -47.8% |
| 1997 | 20.22 million ha | +32.5% |
| 1998 | 25.46 million ha | +25.9% |
| 1999 | 19.82 million ha | -22.1% |
| 2000 | 13.38 million ha | -32.5% |
| 2001 | 20.93 million ha | +56.3% |
| 2002 | 24.89 million ha | +18.9% |
| 2003 | 33.52 million ha | +34.7% |
| 2004 | 35.85 million ha | +6.9% |
| 2005 | 34.58 million ha | -3.5% |
| 2006 | 30.82 million ha | -10.9% |
| 2007 | 36.37 million ha | +18.0% |
| 2008 | 30.44 million ha | -16.3% |
| 2009 | 29.59 million ha | -2.8% |
| 2010 | 40.46 million ha | +36.7% |
| 2011 | 31.85 million ha | -21.3% |
| 2012 | 35.45 million ha | +11.3% |
| 2013 | 29.90 million ha | -15.6% |
| 2014 | 30.60 million ha | +2.3% |
| 2015 | 32.59 million ha | +6.5% |
| 2016 | 32.31 million ha | -0.8% |
| 2017 | 32.36 million ha | +0.1% |
| 2018 | 27.83 million ha | -14.0% |
| 2019 | 35.27 million ha | +26.8% |
| 2020 | 33.44 million ha | -5.2% |
| 2021 | 29.37 million ha | -12.2% |
| 2022 | 23.83 million ha | -18.9% |
| 2023 | 25.64 million ha | +7.6% |
| 2024 | 33.12 million ha | +29.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 25.60 million ha | 15.26 million ha | 29.21 million ha | 10 |
| 2000s | 29.04 million ha | 13.38 million ha | 36.37 million ha | 10 |
| 2010s | 32.86 million ha | 27.83 million ha | 40.46 million ha | 10 |
| 2020s | 29.08 million ha | 23.83 million ha | 33.44 million ha | 5 |
Countries ranked near World
- 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
More climate change data for World
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Synthetic fertilizers (Agricultural) 135.91 billion kg (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 4.94 million kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 1.27 million kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 3.67 million kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 4,791 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 130,918 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 1.64 million kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 957,726 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 685,096 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 3,614 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is forest fires — burned area in World?
- Forest fires — burned area in World was 33.12 million ha in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest forest fires — burned area recorded in World?
- The highest recorded value was 40.46 million ha in 2010.
- What is the lowest forest fires — burned area recorded in World?
- The lowest recorded value was 13.38 million ha in 2000.
- How does World rank for forest fires — burned area?
- World ranks 1st out of 31 groups with data for 2024.
- Is forest fires — burned area rising or falling in World?
- Over the last ten years it is up 8.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this World 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.