Savanna fires — Burned Area in Democratic Republic of the Congo

Democratic Republic of the Congo: Savanna fires — Burned Area was 29.25 million ha in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
29.25 million ha
Change on year
up 9.0%
World rank
3rd
of 22 countries
All-time high
31.43 million ha
in 2004
All-time low
19.72 million ha
in 2000
Years of data
35
1990–2024

Savanna fires — Burned Area in Democratic Republic of the Congo, 1990–2024

010.0M20.0M30.0M1990200720241990: 26.7M ha1991: 26.7M ha1992: 26.7M ha1993: 26.7M ha1994: 26.7M ha1995: 26.7M ha1996: 21.7M ha1997: 20.8M ha1998: 22.2M ha1999: 20.0M ha2000: 19.7M ha2001: 19.9M ha2002: 26.2M ha2003: 29.1M ha2004: 31.4M ha2005: 30.5M ha2006: 31.3M ha2007: 27.0M ha2008: 28.7M ha2009: 28.4M ha2010: 29.4M ha2011: 27.2M ha2012: 26.2M ha2013: 27.9M ha2014: 26.7M ha2015: 27.9M ha2016: 28.1M ha2017: 28.7M ha2018: 26.8M ha2019: 27.4M ha2020: 27.8M ha2021: 28.2M ha2022: 28.6M ha2023: 26.8M ha2024: 29.2M ha

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

Analysis

Democratic Republic of the Congo recorded 29.25 million ha for savanna fires — burned area in 2024.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 9.0% on the previous year and up 9.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, savanna fires — burned area in Democratic Republic of the Congo peaked at 31.43 million ha in 2004 and was at its lowest, 19.72 million ha, in 2000.

Democratic Republic of the Congo ranks 3rd of 22 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

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

Savanna fires — Burned Area in Democratic Republic of the Congo, year by year

Annual values for Savanna fires — Burned Area in Democratic Republic of the Congo, 1990 to 2024.
Year ha Change
1990 26.68 million ha
1991 26.68 million ha +0.0%
1992 26.68 million ha +0.0%
1993 26.68 million ha +0.0%
1994 26.68 million ha +0.0%
1995 26.68 million ha +0.0%
1996 21.66 million ha -18.8%
1997 20.78 million ha -4.1%
1998 22.15 million ha +6.6%
1999 19.99 million ha -9.8%
2000 19.72 million ha -1.3%
2001 19.90 million ha +0.9%
2002 26.16 million ha +31.5%
2003 29.07 million ha +11.1%
2004 31.43 million ha +8.1%
2005 30.51 million ha -2.9%
2006 31.28 million ha +2.5%
2007 27.04 million ha -13.6%
2008 28.68 million ha +6.1%
2009 28.36 million ha -1.1%
2010 29.38 million ha +3.6%
2011 27.17 million ha -7.5%
2012 26.24 million ha -3.4%
2013 27.91 million ha +6.4%
2014 26.70 million ha -4.4%
2015 27.93 million ha +4.6%
2016 28.07 million ha +0.5%
2017 28.67 million ha +2.1%
2018 26.77 million ha -6.6%
2019 27.41 million ha +2.4%
2020 27.81 million ha +1.4%
2021 28.19 million ha +1.4%
2022 28.65 million ha +1.6%
2023 26.84 million ha -6.3%
2024 29.25 million ha +9.0%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 24.47 million ha 19.99 million ha 26.68 million ha 10
2000s 27.22 million ha 19.72 million ha 31.43 million ha 10
2010s 27.62 million ha 26.24 million ha 29.38 million ha 10
2020s 28.15 million ha 26.84 million ha 29.25 million ha 5

Countries ranked near Democratic Republic of the Congo

  1. 1 OECD 42.37 million ha compare
  2. 2 Angola 35.32 million ha compare
  3. 3 Australia and New Zealand 34.24 million ha compare
  4. 4 Australia 34.24 million ha compare
  5. 4 United Republic of Tanzania 7.54 million ha compare
  6. 5 Sudan (former) 31.05 million ha compare
  7. 6 South Sudan 24.46 million ha compare
  8. 6 Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) 4.61 million ha compare

See the full ranking of 274 places →

More climate change data for Democratic Republic of the Congo

All data for Democratic Republic of the Congo →

Frequently asked questions

What is savanna fires — burned area in Democratic Republic of the Congo?
Savanna fires — burned area in Democratic Republic of the Congo was 29.25 million ha in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
What is the highest savanna fires — burned area recorded in Democratic Republic of the Congo?
The highest recorded value was 31.43 million ha in 2004.
What is the lowest savanna fires — burned area recorded in Democratic Republic of the Congo?
The lowest recorded value was 19.72 million ha in 2000.
How does Democratic Republic of the Congo rank for savanna fires — burned area?
Democratic Republic of the Congo ranks 3rd out of 22 countries with data for 2024.
Is savanna fires — burned area rising or falling in Democratic Republic of the Congo?
Over the last ten years it is up 9.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Democratic Republic of the Congo 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 Democratic Republic of the Congo. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 06 September 2026, from https://climate.statizoid.com/stat/savanna-fires-burned-area-fao-tier-1/democratic-republic-of-the-congo/

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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.