Forest fires — Burned Area in Zambia
Zambia: Forest fires — Burned Area was 2.93 million ha in 2024. ▲ Rising
Forest fires — Burned Area in Zambia, 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 Zambia is 2.93 million ha, measured in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 26.8% on the previous year and down 19.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, forest fires — burned area in Zambia peaked at 4.41 million ha in 2015 and was at its lowest, 353,022 ha, in 2000.
That places Zambia 2nd out of 219 countries 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 Zambia, year by year
| Year | ha | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 2.81 million ha | — |
| 1991 | 2.81 million ha | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 2.81 million ha | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 2.81 million ha | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 2.81 million ha | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 2.81 million ha | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 639,300 ha | -77.3% |
| 1997 | 615,932 ha | -3.7% |
| 1998 | 577,558 ha | -6.2% |
| 1999 | 579,379 ha | +0.3% |
| 2000 | 353,022 ha | -39.1% |
| 2001 | 1.95 million ha | +453.6% |
| 2002 | 1.94 million ha | -0.7% |
| 2003 | 2.96 million ha | +52.5% |
| 2004 | 3.26 million ha | +10.1% |
| 2005 | 3.26 million ha | -0.1% |
| 2006 | 2.46 million ha | -24.5% |
| 2007 | 2.75 million ha | +11.9% |
| 2008 | 3.25 million ha | +18.0% |
| 2009 | 2.83 million ha | -12.7% |
| 2010 | 3.89 million ha | +37.4% |
| 2011 | 3.93 million ha | +0.9% |
| 2012 | 3.85 million ha | -1.9% |
| 2013 | 3.69 million ha | -4.3% |
| 2014 | 3.66 million ha | -0.8% |
| 2015 | 4.41 million ha | +20.5% |
| 2016 | 4.23 million ha | -4.0% |
| 2017 | 4.34 million ha | +2.5% |
| 2018 | 4.01 million ha | -7.6% |
| 2019 | 3.95 million ha | -1.4% |
| 2020 | 3.39 million ha | -14.2% |
| 2021 | 2.89 million ha | -14.8% |
| 2022 | 2.71 million ha | -6.2% |
| 2023 | 2.31 million ha | -14.5% |
| 2024 | 2.93 million ha | +26.8% |
Zambia compared with similar countries
- Zambia's 2.93 million ha is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 1,929 ha, 1521.2× the median. (41 countries reporting)
- Zambia's 2.93 million ha is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 3,274 ha, 896.1× the median. (44 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Forest fires — Burned Area in Zambia 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 | +453.6% | 353,022 ha | 1.95 million ha |
| 1996 | -77.3% | 2.81 million ha | 639,300 ha |
| 2003 | +52.5% | 1.94 million ha | 2.96 million ha |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 1.93 million ha | 577,558 ha | 2.81 million ha | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.50 million ha | 353,022 ha | 3.26 million ha | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.99 million ha | 3.66 million ha | 4.41 million ha | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.85 million ha | 2.31 million ha | 3.39 million ha | 5 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
- 1 Brazil 5.28 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
- 5 Angola 1.85 million ha compare
- 5 Democratic Republic of the Congo 3.50 million ha compare
More climate change data for Zambia
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Synthetic fertilizers (Agricultural) 303.19 million kg (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 7,547 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 2,795 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 4,752 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 10.55 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 169.71 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 2,153 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 2,033 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 120.21 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 7.67 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is forest fires — burned area in Zambia?
- Forest fires — burned area in Zambia was 2.93 million ha in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest forest fires — burned area recorded in Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 4.41 million ha in 2015.
- What is the lowest forest fires — burned area recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 353,022 ha in 2000.
- How does Zambia rank for forest fires — burned area?
- Zambia ranks 2nd out of 219 countries with data for 2024.
- Is forest fires — burned area rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 19.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Zambia 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.