Savanna fires — Burned Area in Ghana
Ghana: Savanna fires — Burned Area was 4.17 million ha in 2024. ▼ Falling
Latest (2024)
4.17 million ha
Change on year
up 21.8%
World rank
16th
of 221 countries
All-time high
6.63 million ha
in 2005
All-time low
3.42 million ha
in 2023
Years of data
35
1990–2024
Savanna fires — Burned Area in Ghana, 1990–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in ha.
Analysis
The most recent figure for savanna fires — burned area in Ghana is 4.17 million ha, measured in 2024.
That represents a change of up 21.8% on the previous year and down 13.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, savanna fires — burned area in Ghana peaked at 6.63 million ha in 2005 and was at its lowest, 3.42 million ha, in 2023.
Ghana ranks 16th of 221 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 35 years of available data.
Savanna fires — Burned Area in Ghana, year by year
| Year | ha | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 4.87 million ha | — |
| 1991 | 4.87 million ha | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 4.87 million ha | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 4.87 million ha | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 4.87 million ha | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 4.87 million ha | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 5.07 million ha | +4.1% |
| 1997 | 5.07 million ha | +0.1% |
| 1998 | 6.19 million ha | +21.9% |
| 1999 | 4.76 million ha | -23.0% |
| 2000 | 6.20 million ha | +30.1% |
| 2001 | 4.60 million ha | -25.7% |
| 2002 | 4.36 million ha | -5.3% |
| 2003 | 5.17 million ha | +18.6% |
| 2004 | 4.26 million ha | -17.6% |
| 2005 | 6.63 million ha | +55.6% |
| 2006 | 5.70 million ha | -14.0% |
| 2007 | 5.07 million ha | -11.1% |
| 2008 | 4.89 million ha | -3.5% |
| 2009 | 4.17 million ha | -14.8% |
| 2010 | 4.56 million ha | +9.4% |
| 2011 | 5.66 million ha | +24.1% |
| 2012 | 4.41 million ha | -22.1% |
| 2013 | 5.22 million ha | +18.6% |
| 2014 | 4.80 million ha | -8.2% |
| 2015 | 4.96 million ha | +3.5% |
| 2016 | 4.68 million ha | -5.8% |
| 2017 | 4.60 million ha | -1.7% |
| 2018 | 3.97 million ha | -13.5% |
| 2019 | 3.85 million ha | -3.1% |
| 2020 | 5.34 million ha | +38.6% |
| 2021 | 3.59 million ha | -32.8% |
| 2022 | 5.03 million ha | +40.4% |
| 2023 | 3.42 million ha | -32.1% |
| 2024 | 4.17 million ha | +21.8% |
Ghana compared with similar countries
- Ghana's 4.17 million ha is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 118,811 ha, 35.1× the median. (41 countries reporting)
- Ghana's 4.17 million ha is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 874,766 ha, 4.8× the median. (44 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 5.03 million ha | 4.76 million ha | 6.19 million ha | 10 |
| 2000s | 5.10 million ha | 4.17 million ha | 6.63 million ha | 10 |
| 2010s | 4.67 million ha | 3.85 million ha | 5.66 million ha | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.31 million ha | 3.42 million ha | 5.34 million ha | 5 |
Countries ranked near Ghana
- 13 Sudan 5.35 million ha compare
- 13 Syrian Arab Republic 68,354 ha compare
- 14 Chad 4.71 million ha compare
- 14 Türkiye 56,239 ha compare
- 15 South Africa 4.33 million ha compare
- 15 Timor-Leste 3,185 ha compare
- 16 Democratic People's Republic of Korea 1,375 ha compare
- 17 Canada 3.83 million ha compare
- 17 Republic of Moldova 602.6 ha compare
- 18 Congo 3.82 million ha compare
- 18 Micronesia (Federated States of) 0 ha
- 18 Wallis and Futuna Islands 0 ha
- 18 Micronesia 0 ha
- 18 Polynesia 0 ha compare
- 19 Madagascar 3.74 million ha compare
More climate change data for Ghana
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Synthetic fertilizers (Agricultural) 63.84 million kg (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 6,671 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 2,693 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 3,979 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 10.16 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 142.09 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 1,417 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 670.16 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 746.8 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 2.53 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is savanna fires — burned area in Ghana?
- Savanna fires — burned area in Ghana was 4.17 million ha in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest savanna fires — burned area recorded in Ghana?
- The highest recorded value was 6.63 million ha in 2005.
- What is the lowest savanna fires — burned area recorded in Ghana?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.42 million ha in 2023.
- How does Ghana rank for savanna fires — burned area?
- Ghana ranks 16th out of 221 countries with data for 2024.
- Is savanna fires — burned area rising or falling in Ghana?
- Over the last ten years it is down 13.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Ghana 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.
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.