Grassland — Burned Area in Australia
Australia: Grassland — Burned Area was 19.49 million ha in 2024. ▲ Rising
Grassland — Burned Area in Australia, 1990–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in ha.
Analysis
In 2024, grassland — burned area in Australia stood at 19.49 million ha.
That represents a change of down 6.4% on the previous year and down 8.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, grassland — burned area in Australia peaked at 39.94 million ha in 2001 and was at its lowest, 6.17 million ha, in 1997.
That places Australia 3rd out of 220 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.
Grassland — Burned Area in Australia, year by year
| Year | ha | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 18.77 million ha | — |
| 1991 | 18.77 million ha | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 18.77 million ha | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 18.77 million ha | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 18.77 million ha | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 18.77 million ha | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 6.80 million ha | -63.8% |
| 1997 | 6.17 million ha | -9.3% |
| 1998 | 6.30 million ha | +2.1% |
| 1999 | 7.82 million ha | +24.1% |
| 2000 | 16.37 million ha | +109.3% |
| 2001 | 39.94 million ha | +144.0% |
| 2002 | 23.65 million ha | -40.8% |
| 2003 | 16.79 million ha | -29.0% |
| 2004 | 34.91 million ha | +107.9% |
| 2005 | 16.18 million ha | -53.7% |
| 2006 | 25.84 million ha | +59.7% |
| 2007 | 24.90 million ha | -3.6% |
| 2008 | 18.31 million ha | -26.5% |
| 2009 | 23.18 million ha | +26.6% |
| 2010 | 10.82 million ha | -53.3% |
| 2011 | 28.56 million ha | +164.0% |
| 2012 | 33.26 million ha | +16.5% |
| 2013 | 14.07 million ha | -57.7% |
| 2014 | 21.27 million ha | +51.2% |
| 2015 | 17.97 million ha | -15.5% |
| 2016 | 13.41 million ha | -25.4% |
| 2017 | 17.99 million ha | +34.2% |
| 2018 | 23.83 million ha | +32.4% |
| 2019 | 15.66 million ha | -34.3% |
| 2020 | 8.53 million ha | -45.5% |
| 2021 | 16.08 million ha | +88.5% |
| 2022 | 15.39 million ha | -4.3% |
| 2023 | 20.83 million ha | +35.3% |
| 2024 | 19.49 million ha | -6.4% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 19.49 million ha is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 64.53 ha, 302033.1× the median. (27 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 13.97 million ha | 6.17 million ha | 18.77 million ha | 10 |
| 2000s | 24.01 million ha | 16.18 million ha | 39.94 million ha | 10 |
| 2010s | 19.68 million ha | 10.82 million ha | 33.26 million ha | 10 |
| 2020s | 16.06 million ha | 8.53 million ha | 20.83 million ha | 5 |
Countries ranked near Australia
- 1 OECD 21.84 million ha compare
- 2 Australia and New Zealand 19.49 million ha compare
- 3 United Republic of Tanzania 2.91 million ha compare
- 4 Sudan (former) 14.48 million ha compare
- 4 Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) 2.48 million ha compare
- 5 Angola 13.51 million ha compare
- 6 Democratic Republic of the Congo 1.51 million ha compare
- 6 South Sudan 8.35 million ha compare
More climate change data for Australia
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Synthetic fertilizers (Agricultural) 1.30 billion kg (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 118,578 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 34,162 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 84,416 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 128.91 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 3,015 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 12,473 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 10,966 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 1,507 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 41.38 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is grassland — burned area in Australia?
- Grassland — burned area in Australia was 19.49 million ha in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest grassland — burned area recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 39.94 million ha in 2001.
- What is the lowest grassland — burned area recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.17 million ha in 1997.
- How does Australia rank for grassland — burned area?
- Australia ranks 3rd out of 220 countries with data for 2024.
- Is grassland — burned area rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 8.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Grassland — 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.