Open shrubland — Burned Area in Southern Africa
Southern Africa: Open shrubland — Burned Area was 1.12 million ha in 2024. ◆ Volatile
Open shrubland — Burned Area in Southern Africa, 1990–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in ha.
Analysis
Southern Africa recorded 1.12 million ha for open shrubland — burned area in 2024.
The figure is down 84.1% on the previous year and up 73.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, open shrubland — burned area in Southern Africa peaked at 11.26 million ha in 2011 and was at its lowest, 295,463 ha, in 2019.
Southern Africa ranks 6th 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 Southern Africa, year by year
| Year | ha | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 2.87 million ha | — |
| 1991 | 2.87 million ha | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 2.87 million ha | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 2.87 million ha | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 2.87 million ha | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 2.87 million ha | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 963,867 ha | -66.4% |
| 1997 | 1.16 million ha | +20.3% |
| 1998 | 990,897 ha | -14.5% |
| 1999 | 894,915 ha | -9.7% |
| 2000 | 705,394 ha | -21.2% |
| 2001 | 4.19 million ha | +493.4% |
| 2002 | 4.42 million ha | +5.6% |
| 2003 | 1.02 million ha | -77.0% |
| 2004 | 436,719 ha | -57.0% |
| 2005 | 1.16 million ha | +164.6% |
| 2006 | 2.84 million ha | +145.9% |
| 2007 | 2.38 million ha | -16.2% |
| 2008 | 5.06 million ha | +112.6% |
| 2009 | 2.10 million ha | -58.4% |
| 2010 | 6.88 million ha | +227.1% |
| 2011 | 11.26 million ha | +63.7% |
| 2012 | 5.65 million ha | -49.9% |
| 2013 | 2.31 million ha | -59.1% |
| 2014 | 646,899 ha | -72.0% |
| 2015 | 1.04 million ha | +61.3% |
| 2016 | 370,555 ha | -64.5% |
| 2017 | 2.09 million ha | +463.2% |
| 2018 | 1.36 million ha | -34.8% |
| 2019 | 295,463 ha | -78.3% |
| 2020 | 2.50 million ha | +745.2% |
| 2021 | 7.14 million ha | +186.1% |
| 2022 | 5.11 million ha | -28.4% |
| 2023 | 7.06 million ha | +38.0% |
| 2024 | 1.12 million ha | -84.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 2.12 million ha | 894,915 ha | 2.87 million ha | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.43 million ha | 436,719 ha | 5.06 million ha | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.19 million ha | 295,463 ha | 11.26 million ha | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.59 million ha | 1.12 million ha | 7.14 million ha | 5 |
Countries ranked near Southern Africa
- 4 Russian Federation 1.02 million ha compare
- 5 Botswana 924,078 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 Republic of the Congo 0 ha compare
- 8 Timor-Leste 0 ha
- 8 Viet Nam 0 ha compare
- 9 Angola 45,448 ha compare
More climate change data for Southern Africa
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 48,717 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 16,474 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 32,243 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 62.17 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 1,152 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 5,709 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 5,306 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 402.74 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 20.02 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 14.38 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is open shrubland — burned area in Southern Africa?
- Open shrubland — burned area in Southern Africa was 1.12 million ha in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest open shrubland — burned area recorded in Southern Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 11.26 million ha in 2011.
- What is the lowest open shrubland — burned area recorded in Southern Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 295,463 ha in 2019.
- How does Southern Africa rank for open shrubland — burned area?
- Southern Africa ranks 6th out of 31 groups with data for 2024.
- Is open shrubland — burned area rising or falling in Southern Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 73.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Southern 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.