Open shrubland — Burned Area in Africa
Africa: Open shrubland — Burned Area was 1.25 million ha in 2024. ◆ Volatile
Open shrubland — Burned Area in Africa, 1990–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in ha.
Analysis
In 2024, open shrubland — burned area in Africa stood at 1.25 million ha.
That represents a change of down 82.5% on the previous year and up 47.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, open shrubland — burned area in Africa peaked at 11.45 million ha in 2011 and was at its lowest, 491,535 ha, in 2019.
Africa ranks 5th of 31 groups on this measure, in the top quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Open shrubland — Burned Area in Africa, year by year
| Year | ha | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 3.73 million ha | — |
| 1991 | 3.73 million ha | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 3.73 million ha | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 3.73 million ha | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 3.73 million ha | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 3.73 million ha | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 4.58 million ha | +22.8% |
| 1997 | 4.65 million ha | +1.6% |
| 1998 | 5.70 million ha | +22.5% |
| 1999 | 5.53 million ha | -2.9% |
| 2000 | 5.38 million ha | -2.7% |
| 2001 | 4.79 million ha | -11.1% |
| 2002 | 4.76 million ha | -0.7% |
| 2003 | 1.35 million ha | -71.6% |
| 2004 | 767,433 ha | -43.3% |
| 2005 | 1.51 million ha | +97.1% |
| 2006 | 3.07 million ha | +102.9% |
| 2007 | 2.68 million ha | -12.8% |
| 2008 | 5.27 million ha | +96.8% |
| 2009 | 2.34 million ha | -55.5% |
| 2010 | 7.11 million ha | +203.5% |
| 2011 | 11.45 million ha | +61.1% |
| 2012 | 5.88 million ha | -48.7% |
| 2013 | 2.47 million ha | -58.0% |
| 2014 | 848,503 ha | -65.6% |
| 2015 | 1.24 million ha | +46.0% |
| 2016 | 552,027 ha | -55.4% |
| 2017 | 2.26 million ha | +308.6% |
| 2018 | 1.53 million ha | -32.3% |
| 2019 | 491,535 ha | -67.8% |
| 2020 | 2.65 million ha | +439.5% |
| 2021 | 7.24 million ha | +173.2% |
| 2022 | 5.18 million ha | -28.5% |
| 2023 | 7.13 million ha | +37.7% |
| 2024 | 1.25 million ha | -82.5% |
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Open shrubland — Burned Area in Africa 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +439.5% | 491,535 ha | 2.65 million ha |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 4.28 million ha | 3.73 million ha | 5.70 million ha | 10 |
| 2000s | 3.19 million ha | 767,433 ha | 5.38 million ha | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.38 million ha | 491,535 ha | 11.45 million ha | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.69 million ha | 1.25 million ha | 7.24 million ha | 5 |
Countries ranked near Africa
- 2 Australia 11.72 million ha compare
- 2 Iran (Islamic Republic of) 146,868 ha compare
- 2 Australia and New Zealand 11.72 million ha compare
- 4 Russian Federation 1.02 million ha compare
- 4 Syrian Arab Republic 63,138 ha compare
- 5 Botswana 924,078 ha compare
- 6 Bolivia (Plurinational State of) 7,358 ha compare
- 6 South Africa 159,213 ha compare
- 7 Iraq 93,236 ha compare
- 7 Türkiye 1,976 ha compare
- 8 Argentina 50,420 ha compare
- 8 Democratic People's Republic of Korea 0 ha compare
- 8 Democratic Republic of the Congo 0 ha compare
- 8 Lao People's Democratic Republic 0 ha compare
- 8 Micronesia (Federated States of) 0 ha
- 8 Republic of Moldova 0 ha
- 8 Timor-Leste 0 ha
- 8 United Republic of Tanzania 0 ha compare
- 8 Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) 0 ha compare
- 8 Viet Nam 0 ha compare
- 8 Wallis and Futuna Islands 0 ha
- 8 Melanesia 0 ha compare
- 8 Micronesia 0 ha
- 8 Polynesia 0 ha compare
More climate change data for Africa
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Synthetic fertilizers (Agricultural) 7.12 billion kg (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 778,093 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 263,963 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 514,131 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 996.09 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 18,362 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 114,526 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 60,368 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 54,158 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 227.81 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is open shrubland — burned area in Africa?
- Open shrubland — burned area in Africa was 1.25 million ha in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest open shrubland — burned area recorded in Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 11.45 million ha in 2011.
- What is the lowest open shrubland — burned area recorded in Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 491,535 ha in 2019.
- How does Africa rank for open shrubland — burned area?
- Africa ranks 5th out of 31 groups with data for 2024.
- Is open shrubland — burned area rising or falling in Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 47.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Africa data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Open shrubland — 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.