Savanna fires — Burned Area in Central America

Central America: Savanna fires — Burned Area was 1.88 million ha in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
1.88 million ha
Change on year
down 6.3%
Rank
20th
of 31 groups
All-time high
2.91 million ha
in 2011
All-time low
653,382 ha
in 1997
Years of data
35
1990–2024

Savanna fires — Burned Area in Central America, 1990–2024

500.0k1.0M1.5M2.0M2.5M3.0M1990200720241990: 1.5M ha1991: 1.5M ha1992: 1.5M ha1993: 1.5M ha1994: 1.5M ha1995: 1.5M ha1996: 898.2k ha1997: 653.4k ha1998: 1.4M ha1999: 951.2k ha2000: 937.6k ha2001: 841.3k ha2002: 1.3M ha2003: 2.8M ha2004: 781.3k ha2005: 2.8M ha2006: 1.3M ha2007: 1.7M ha2008: 1.5M ha2009: 1.5M ha2010: 1.1M ha2011: 2.9M ha2012: 1.3M ha2013: 1.7M ha2014: 923.8k ha2015: 905.7k ha2016: 1.5M ha2017: 1.6M ha2018: 1.5M ha2019: 1.8M ha2020: 1.8M ha2021: 1.1M ha2022: 998.1k ha2023: 2.0M ha2024: 1.9M ha

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

Analysis

The most recent figure for savanna fires — burned area in Central America is 1.88 million ha, measured in 2024.

That represents a change of down 6.3% on the previous year and up 103.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, savanna fires — burned area in Central America peaked at 2.91 million ha in 2011 and was at its lowest, 653,382 ha, in 1997.

Central America ranks 20th of 31 groups on this measure, in the middle of the range.

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

Savanna fires — Burned Area in Central America, year by year

Annual values for Savanna fires — Burned Area in Central America, 1990 to 2024.
Year ha Change
1990 1.46 million ha
1991 1.46 million ha +0.0%
1992 1.46 million ha +0.0%
1993 1.46 million ha +0.0%
1994 1.46 million ha +0.0%
1995 1.46 million ha +0.0%
1996 898,246 ha -38.5%
1997 653,382 ha -27.3%
1998 1.41 million ha +116.4%
1999 951,249 ha -32.7%
2000 937,572 ha -1.4%
2001 841,305 ha -10.3%
2002 1.33 million ha +57.9%
2003 2.78 million ha +108.9%
2004 781,258 ha -71.9%
2005 2.82 million ha +260.6%
2006 1.28 million ha -54.6%
2007 1.65 million ha +29.0%
2008 1.54 million ha -7.0%
2009 1.49 million ha -3.1%
2010 1.09 million ha -26.5%
2011 2.91 million ha +166.1%
2012 1.25 million ha -56.9%
2013 1.69 million ha +35.0%
2014 923,817 ha -45.4%
2015 905,652 ha -2.0%
2016 1.48 million ha +63.3%
2017 1.64 million ha +10.7%
2018 1.46 million ha -10.9%
2019 1.84 million ha +26.2%
2020 1.78 million ha -3.4%
2021 1.12 million ha -37.2%
2022 998,085 ha -10.6%
2023 2.01 million ha +101.2%
2024 1.88 million ha -6.3%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 1.27 million ha 653,382 ha 1.46 million ha 10
2000s 1.54 million ha 781,258 ha 2.82 million ha 10
2010s 1.52 million ha 905,652 ha 2.91 million ha 10
2020s 1.56 million ha 998,085 ha 2.01 million ha 5

Countries ranked near Central America

  1. 17 Canada 3.83 million ha compare
  2. 18 Congo 3.82 million ha compare
  3. 19 Madagascar 3.74 million ha compare
  4. 20 Nigeria 3.67 million ha compare
  5. 21 Senegal 3.38 million ha compare
  6. 22 Ethiopia 3.28 million ha compare
  7. 23 Burkina Faso 3.26 million ha compare

See the full ranking of 274 places →

More climate change data for Central America

All data for Central America →

Frequently asked questions

What is savanna fires — burned area in Central America?
Savanna fires — burned area in Central America was 1.88 million ha in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
What is the highest savanna fires — burned area recorded in Central America?
The highest recorded value was 2.91 million ha in 2011.
What is the lowest savanna fires — burned area recorded in Central America?
The lowest recorded value was 653,382 ha in 1997.
How does Central America rank for savanna fires — burned area?
Central America ranks 20th out of 31 groups with data for 2024.
Is savanna fires — burned area rising or falling in Central America?
Over the last ten years it is up 103.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Central America data come from?
The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Savanna fires — Burned Area. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Savanna fires — Burned Area in Central America. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 27 August 2026, from https://climate.statizoid.com/stat/savanna-fires-burned-area-fao-tier-1/central-america/

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About this data

Indicator
Savanna fires — Burned Area
Unit
ha
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)
Coverage
274 places, 9,364 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.