Forest fires — Burning crop residues in Africa

Africa: Forest fires — Burning crop residues was 778.27 million t in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
778.27 million t
Change on year
up 7.2%
Rank
4th
of 31 groups
All-time high
1.26 billion t
in 2010
All-time low
383.27 million t
in 1996
Years of data
35
1990–2024

Forest fires — Burning crop residues in Africa, 1990–2024

400.0M600.0M800.0M1.0B1.2B1990200720241990: 960.2M t1991: 960.2M t1992: 960.2M t1993: 960.2M t1994: 960.2M t1995: 960.2M t1996: 383.3M t1997: 452.5M t1998: 595.1M t1999: 545.7M t2000: 409.3M t2001: 832.8M t2002: 807.8M t2003: 1.1B t2004: 1.1B t2005: 1.2B t2006: 1.1B t2007: 1.1B t2008: 1.1B t2009: 1.0B t2010: 1.3B t2011: 1.2B t2012: 1.2B t2013: 1.2B t2014: 1.1B t2015: 1.2B t2016: 1.2B t2017: 1.2B t2018: 1.1B t2019: 1.1B t2020: 1.0B t2021: 967.3M t2022: 868.1M t2023: 726.3M t2024: 778.3M t

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

Analysis

Africa recorded 778.27 million t for forest fires — burning crop residues in 2024.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 7.2% on the previous year and down 28.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, forest fires — burning crop residues in Africa peaked at 1.26 billion t in 2010 and was at its lowest, 383.27 million t, in 1996.

That places Africa 4th 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 — Burning crop residues in Africa, year by year

Annual values for Forest fires — Burning crop residues (Biomass burned, dry matter) in Africa, 1990 to 2024.
Year t Change
1990 960.20 million t
1991 960.20 million t +0.0%
1992 960.20 million t +0.0%
1993 960.20 million t +0.0%
1994 960.20 million t +0.0%
1995 960.20 million t +0.0%
1996 383.27 million t -60.1%
1997 452.50 million t +18.1%
1998 595.09 million t +31.5%
1999 545.71 million t -8.3%
2000 409.32 million t -25.0%
2001 832.82 million t +103.5%
2002 807.78 million t -3.0%
2003 1.10 billion t +36.1%
2004 1.06 billion t -3.7%
2005 1.20 billion t +13.5%
2006 1.06 billion t -11.9%
2007 1.08 billion t +1.6%
2008 1.13 billion t +5.1%
2009 1.02 billion t -9.5%
2010 1.26 billion t +22.7%
2011 1.23 billion t -1.7%
2012 1.25 billion t +1.2%
2013 1.16 billion t -7.4%
2014 1.09 billion t -6.1%
2015 1.15 billion t +6.4%
2016 1.21 billion t +4.7%
2017 1.20 billion t -0.8%
2018 1.06 billion t -11.3%
2019 1.09 billion t +2.8%
2020 1.03 billion t -6.0%
2021 967.32 million t -5.8%
2022 868.12 million t -10.3%
2023 726.32 million t -16.3%
2024 778.27 million t +7.2%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 773.78 million t 383.27 million t 960.20 million t 10
2000s 970.17 million t 409.32 million t 1.20 billion t 10
2010s 1.17 billion t 1.06 billion t 1.26 billion t 10
2020s 873.42 million t 726.32 million t 1.03 billion t 5

Countries ranked near Africa

  1. 1 Brazil 285.39 million t compare
  2. 2 Zambia 157.72 million t compare
  3. 3 Bolivia (Plurinational State of) 320.10 million t compare
  4. 3 Central African Republic 130.32 million t compare
  5. 4 Mozambique 116.41 million t compare
  6. 5 Angola 99.51 million t compare
  7. 5 Democratic Republic of the Congo 188.95 million t compare
  8. 6 Lao People's Democratic Republic 25.28 million t compare
  9. 6 OECD 83.61 million t compare
  10. 7 Myanmar 68.71 million t compare
  11. 7 United Republic of Tanzania 21.93 million t compare

See the full ranking of 272 places →

More climate change data for Africa

All data for Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is forest fires — burning crop residues in Africa?
Forest fires — burning crop residues in Africa was 778.27 million t in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
What is the highest forest fires — burning crop residues recorded in Africa?
The highest recorded value was 1.26 billion t in 2010.
What is the lowest forest fires — burning crop residues recorded in Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 383.27 million t in 1996.
How does Africa rank for forest fires — burning crop residues?
Africa ranks 4th out of 31 groups with data for 2024.
Is forest fires — burning crop residues rising or falling in Africa?
Over the last ten years it is down 28.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Africa data come from?
The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Forest fires — Burning crop residues (Biomass burned, dry matter). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Forest fires — Burning crop residues in Africa. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 07 September 2026, from https://climate.statizoid.com/stat/forest-fires-burning-crop-residues-biomass-burned-dry-matter-fao-tier-1/africa/

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About this data

Indicator
Forest fires — Burning crop residues (Biomass burned, dry matter)
Unit
t
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.