Savanna fires — Burned Area in Western Africa
Western Africa: Savanna fires — Burned Area was 28.63 million ha in 2024. ▼ Falling
Savanna fires — Burned Area in Western Africa, 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 Western Africa is 28.63 million ha, measured in 2024.
That represents a change of up 14.0% on the previous year and up 6.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, savanna fires — burned area in Western Africa peaked at 42.91 million ha in 2005 and was at its lowest, 22.24 million ha, in 2018.
That places Western Africa 12th out of 31 groups with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 35 years of available data.
Savanna fires — Burned Area in Western Africa, year by year
| Year | ha | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 31.25 million ha | — |
| 1991 | 31.25 million ha | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 31.25 million ha | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 31.25 million ha | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 31.25 million ha | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 31.25 million ha | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 31.06 million ha | -0.6% |
| 1997 | 31.25 million ha | +0.6% |
| 1998 | 36.34 million ha | +16.3% |
| 1999 | 33.40 million ha | -8.1% |
| 2000 | 36.84 million ha | +10.3% |
| 2001 | 33.27 million ha | -9.7% |
| 2002 | 33.56 million ha | +0.9% |
| 2003 | 33.22 million ha | -1.0% |
| 2004 | 33.76 million ha | +1.6% |
| 2005 | 42.91 million ha | +27.1% |
| 2006 | 38.59 million ha | -10.1% |
| 2007 | 36.20 million ha | -6.2% |
| 2008 | 33.07 million ha | -8.7% |
| 2009 | 29.22 million ha | -11.6% |
| 2010 | 30.47 million ha | +4.3% |
| 2011 | 31.88 million ha | +4.6% |
| 2012 | 28.08 million ha | -11.9% |
| 2013 | 30.47 million ha | +8.5% |
| 2014 | 26.79 million ha | -12.1% |
| 2015 | 25.67 million ha | -4.2% |
| 2016 | 33.67 million ha | +31.1% |
| 2017 | 27.32 million ha | -18.8% |
| 2018 | 22.24 million ha | -18.6% |
| 2019 | 24.08 million ha | +8.2% |
| 2020 | 28.99 million ha | +20.4% |
| 2021 | 25.55 million ha | -11.9% |
| 2022 | 27.24 million ha | +6.6% |
| 2023 | 25.12 million ha | -7.8% |
| 2024 | 28.63 million ha | +14.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 31.95 million ha | 31.06 million ha | 36.34 million ha | 10 |
| 2000s | 35.06 million ha | 29.22 million ha | 42.91 million ha | 10 |
| 2010s | 28.07 million ha | 22.24 million ha | 33.67 million ha | 10 |
| 2020s | 27.11 million ha | 25.12 million ha | 28.99 million ha | 5 |
Countries ranked near Western Africa
- 9 Mozambique 15.15 million ha compare
- 10 Central African Republic 11.06 million ha compare
- 11 Russian Federation 8.15 million ha compare
- 11 Viet Nam 131,183 ha compare
- 12 Mali 6.49 million ha compare
- 13 Sudan 5.35 million 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
More climate change data for Western Africa
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 227,102 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 79,704 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 147,398 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 300.77 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 5,264 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 41,728 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 14,712 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 27,017 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 55.52 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 964.89 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is savanna fires — burned area in Western Africa?
- Savanna fires — burned area in Western Africa was 28.63 million ha in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest savanna fires — burned area recorded in Western Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 42.91 million ha in 2005.
- What is the lowest savanna fires — burned area recorded in Western Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 22.24 million ha in 2018.
- How does Western Africa rank for savanna fires — burned area?
- Western Africa ranks 12th out of 31 groups with data for 2024.
- Is savanna fires — burned area rising or falling in Western Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 6.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Western Africa 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.