Grassland — Burned Area in Malawi

Malawi: Grassland — Burned Area was 74,684 ha in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
74,684 ha
Change on year
up 22.0%
World rank
51st
of 220 countries
All-time high
149,101 ha
in 2018
All-time low
1,985 ha
in 2000
Years of data
35
1990–2024

Grassland — Burned Area in Malawi, 1990–2024

050.0k100.0k150.0k1990200720241990: 78.6k ha1991: 78.6k ha1992: 78.6k ha1993: 78.6k ha1994: 78.6k ha1995: 78.6k ha1996: 2.6k ha1997: 2.2k ha1998: 3.3k ha1999: 2.9k ha2000: 2.0k ha2001: 61.9k ha2002: 90.9k ha2003: 103.6k ha2004: 82.6k ha2005: 107.6k ha2006: 103.5k ha2007: 99.0k ha2008: 105.6k ha2009: 81.9k ha2010: 115.6k ha2011: 129.8k ha2012: 106.9k ha2013: 91.8k ha2014: 70.6k ha2015: 94.4k ha2016: 98.5k ha2017: 78.0k ha2018: 149.1k ha2019: 92.0k ha2020: 89.7k ha2021: 83.0k ha2022: 93.9k ha2023: 61.2k ha2024: 74.7k ha

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

Analysis

In 2024, grassland — burned area in Malawi stood at 74,684 ha.

That represents a change of up 22.0% on the previous year and up 5.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, grassland — burned area in Malawi peaked at 149,101 ha in 2018 and was at its lowest, 1,985 ha, in 2000.

Malawi ranks 51st of 220 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 35 years of available data.

Grassland — Burned Area in Malawi, year by year

Annual values for Grassland — Burned Area in Malawi, 1990 to 2024.
Year ha Change
1990 78,572 ha —
1991 78,572 ha +0.0%
1992 78,572 ha +0.0%
1993 78,572 ha +0.0%
1994 78,572 ha +0.0%
1995 78,572 ha +0.0%
1996 2,579 ha -96.7%
1997 2,160 ha -16.3%
1998 3,269 ha +51.3%
1999 2,902 ha -11.2%
2000 1,985 ha -31.6%
2001 61,869 ha +3016.2%
2002 90,894 ha +46.9%
2003 103,640 ha +14.0%
2004 82,616 ha -20.3%
2005 107,559 ha +30.2%
2006 103,454 ha -3.8%
2007 98,960 ha -4.3%
2008 105,633 ha +6.7%
2009 81,890 ha -22.5%
2010 115,557 ha +41.1%
2011 129,828 ha +12.3%
2012 106,937 ha -17.6%
2013 91,772 ha -14.2%
2014 70,558 ha -23.1%
2015 94,426 ha +33.8%
2016 98,491 ha +4.3%
2017 78,003 ha -20.8%
2018 149,101 ha +91.1%
2019 91,970 ha -38.3%
2020 89,662 ha -2.5%
2021 83,030 ha -7.4%
2022 93,917 ha +13.1%
2023 61,235 ha -34.8%
2024 74,684 ha +22.0%

Malawi compared with similar countries

  • Malawi's 74,684 ha is below the median for low income countries, which is 348,840 ha, 21% of the median. (22 countries reporting)
  • Malawi's 74,684 ha is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 491,367 ha, 15% of the median. (44 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Grassland — 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.

YearChange FromTo
2001 +3016.2% 1,985 ha 61,869 ha

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 48,234 ha 2,160 ha 78,572 ha 10
2000s 83,850 ha 1,985 ha 107,559 ha 10
2010s 102,664 ha 70,558 ha 149,101 ha 10
2020s 80,505 ha 61,235 ha 93,917 ha 5

Countries ranked near Malawi

  1. 48 Peru 107,306 ha compare
  2. 49 Eswatini 82,601 ha compare
  3. 50 Nicaragua 81,547 ha compare
  4. 52 India 74,076 ha compare
  5. 53 Guyana 66,956 ha compare
  6. 54 Pakistan 66,263 ha compare

See the full ranking of 273 places →

More climate change data for Malawi

All data for Malawi →

Frequently asked questions

What is grassland — burned area in Malawi?
Grassland — burned area in Malawi was 74,684 ha in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
What is the highest grassland — burned area recorded in Malawi?
The highest recorded value was 149,101 ha in 2018.
What is the lowest grassland — burned area recorded in Malawi?
The lowest recorded value was 1,985 ha in 2000.
How does Malawi rank for grassland — burned area?
Malawi ranks 51st out of 220 countries with data for 2024.
Is grassland — burned area rising or falling in Malawi?
Over the last ten years it is up 5.8%. 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 Grassland — Burned Area. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Grassland — Burned Area in Malawi. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 10 October 2026, from https://climate.statizoid.com/stat/grassland-burned-area-fao-tier-1/malawi/

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About this data

Indicator
Grassland — Burned Area
Unit
ha
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)
Coverage
273 places, 9,329 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.