Open shrubland — Burned Area, per square kilometre in Australia

Australia: Open shrubland — Burned Area, per square kilometre was 5.8 ha per square kilometre in 2023. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2023)
5.8 ha per square kilometre
Change on year
up 424.9%
World rank
2nd
of 185 countries
All-time high
6.52 ha per square kilometre
in 2011
All-time low
0.2609 ha per square kilometre
in 2020
Years of data
34
1990–2023

Open shrubland — Burned Area, per square kilometre in Australia, 1990–2023

02461990200620231990: 2.5 ha per square kilometre1991: 2.5 ha per square kilometre1992: 2.5 ha per square kilometre1993: 2.5 ha per square kilometre1994: 2.5 ha per square kilometre1995: 2.5 ha per square kilometre1996: 1.8 ha per square kilometre1997: 1.8 ha per square kilometre1998: 2.2 ha per square kilometre1999: 4.1 ha per square kilometre2000: 5.1 ha per square kilometre2001: 5.6 ha per square kilometre2002: 5.6 ha per square kilometre2003: 0.871 ha per square kilometre2004: 2.8 ha per square kilometre2005: 0.57 ha per square kilometre2006: 3 ha per square kilometre2007: 2.6 ha per square kilometre2008: 0.971 ha per square kilometre2009: 0.995 ha per square kilometre2010: 0.578 ha per square kilometre2011: 6.5 ha per square kilometre2012: 5.9 ha per square kilometre2013: 1 ha per square kilometre2014: 2.1 ha per square kilometre2015: 2.2 ha per square kilometre2016: 0.71 ha per square kilometre2017: 3.4 ha per square kilometre2018: 2.8 ha per square kilometre2019: 1.2 ha per square kilometre2020: 0.261 ha per square kilometre2021: 0.775 ha per square kilometre2022: 1.1 ha per square kilometre2023: 5.8 ha per square kilometre

Source: Statizoid (derived). Measured in ha per square kilometre.

Analysis

The most recent figure for open shrubland — burned area, per square kilometre in Australia is 5.8 ha per square kilometre, measured in 2023.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 424.9% on the previous year and up 478.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, open shrubland — burned area, per square kilometre in Australia peaked at 6.52 ha per square kilometre in 2011 and was at its lowest, 0.2609 ha per square kilometre, in 2020.

Australia ranks 2nd of 185 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Open shrubland — Burned Area, per square kilometre in Australia, year by year

Annual values for Open shrubland — Burned Area, per square kilometre in Australia, 1990 to 2023.
Year ha per square kilometre Change
1990 2.55 ha per square kilometre —
1991 2.55 ha per square kilometre +0.0%
1992 2.55 ha per square kilometre +0.0%
1993 2.55 ha per square kilometre +0.0%
1994 2.55 ha per square kilometre +0.0%
1995 2.55 ha per square kilometre +0.0%
1996 1.78 ha per square kilometre -30.1%
1997 1.84 ha per square kilometre +3.4%
1998 2.2 ha per square kilometre +19.4%
1999 4.12 ha per square kilometre +87.6%
2000 5.06 ha per square kilometre +22.7%
2001 5.56 ha per square kilometre +10.0%
2002 5.6 ha per square kilometre +0.6%
2003 0.8705 ha per square kilometre -84.4%
2004 2.76 ha per square kilometre +216.8%
2005 0.5698 ha per square kilometre -79.3%
2006 2.99 ha per square kilometre +424.3%
2007 2.6 ha per square kilometre -13.1%
2008 0.9709 ha per square kilometre -62.6%
2009 0.9949 ha per square kilometre +2.5%
2010 0.5777 ha per square kilometre -41.9%
2011 6.52 ha per square kilometre +1028.7%
2012 5.91 ha per square kilometre -9.3%
2013 1 ha per square kilometre -83.0%
2014 2.15 ha per square kilometre +113.7%
2015 2.17 ha per square kilometre +1.3%
2016 0.71 ha per square kilometre -67.3%
2017 3.36 ha per square kilometre +372.9%
2018 2.82 ha per square kilometre -16.1%
2019 1.21 ha per square kilometre -56.9%
2020 0.2609 ha per square kilometre -78.5%
2021 0.7749 ha per square kilometre +197.0%
2022 1.11 ha per square kilometre +42.6%
2023 5.8 ha per square kilometre +424.9%

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Open shrubland — Burned Area, per square kilometre in Australia 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
2011 +1028.7% 0.5777 ha per square kilometre 6.52 ha per square kilometre
2006 +424.3% 0.5698 ha per square kilometre 2.99 ha per square kilometre
2023 +424.9% 1.11 ha per square kilometre 5.8 ha per square kilometre

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 2.52 ha per square kilometre 1.78 ha per square kilometre 4.12 ha per square kilometre 10
2000s 2.8 ha per square kilometre 0.5698 ha per square kilometre 5.6 ha per square kilometre 10
2010s 2.64 ha per square kilometre 0.5777 ha per square kilometre 6.52 ha per square kilometre 10
2020s 1.99 ha per square kilometre 0.2609 ha per square kilometre 5.8 ha per square kilometre 4

Countries ranked near Australia

  1. 1 Botswana 9.57 ha per square kilometre compare
  2. 3 South Africa 0.8812 ha per square kilometre compare
  3. 4 Namibia 0.6838 ha per square kilometre compare
  4. 5 Iraq 0.0636 ha per square kilometre compare

See the full ranking of 186 places →

More climate change data for Australia

All data for Australia →

Frequently asked questions

What is open shrubland — burned area, per square kilometre in Australia?
Open shrubland — burned area, per square kilometre in Australia was 5.8 ha per square kilometre in 2023, according to Statizoid (derived).
What is the highest open shrubland — burned area, per square kilometre recorded in Australia?
The highest recorded value was 6.52 ha per square kilometre in 2011.
What is the lowest open shrubland — burned area, per square kilometre recorded in Australia?
The lowest recorded value was 0.2609 ha per square kilometre in 2020.
How does Australia rank for open shrubland — burned area, per square kilometre?
Australia ranks 2nd out of 185 countries with data for 2023.
Is open shrubland — burned area, per square kilometre rising or falling in Australia?
Over the last ten years it is up 478.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Australia data come from?
The figures come from Statizoid (derived), published as part of Open shrubland — Burned Area, per square kilometre. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 34 observations, free to reuse under Derived by Statizoid from the sources named on the page.

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Open shrubland — Burned Area, per square kilometre in Australia. Statizoid, drawing on Statizoid (derived). Retrieved 10 October 2026, from https://climate.statizoid.com/stat/open-shrubland-burned-area-per-square-kilometre/australia/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under Derived by Statizoid from the sources named on the page; please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://climate.statizoid.com/stat/open-shrubland-burned-area-per-square-kilometre/australia/">Open shrubland — Burned Area, per square kilometre in Australia</a> — Statizoid

How this figure is calculated

Open shrubland — Burned Area divided by Land area (sq. km), matched on country and year. Neither publisher issues this ratio as a series; it is computed here from both.

Open shrubland — Burned Area ÷ Land area (sq. km)

Computed from

Statizoid computes this series; the underlying measurements belong to the publishers named above. The arithmetic is applied to every country and year where both inputs report, and nothing is estimated unless the page says so.

About this data

Indicator
Open shrubland — Burned Area, per square kilometre
Unit
ha per square kilometre
Source
Statizoid (derived)
Licence
Derived by Statizoid from the sources named on the page
Coverage
186 places, 6,179 data points, 1990–2023
Last refreshed

Open shrubland — Burned Area divided by Land area (sq. km), matched on country and year. Neither publisher issues this ratio as a series; it is computed here from both.