Savanna fires — Burning crop residues in Africa
Africa: Savanna fires — Burning crop residues was 1.28 billion t in 2024. ▼ Falling
Savanna fires — Burning crop residues in Africa, 1990–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in t.
Analysis
In 2024, savanna fires — burning crop residues in Africa stood at 1.28 billion t.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.9% on the previous year and down 1.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, savanna fires — burning crop residues in Africa peaked at 1.68 billion t in 2005 and was at its lowest, 1.17 billion t, in 2019.
Africa ranks 3rd of 31 groups on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 35 years of available data.
Savanna fires — Burning crop residues in Africa, year by year
| Year | t | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 1.44 billion t | — |
| 1991 | 1.44 billion t | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 1.44 billion t | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 1.44 billion t | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 1.44 billion t | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 1.44 billion t | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 1.47 billion t | +2.1% |
| 1997 | 1.43 billion t | -2.6% |
| 1998 | 1.61 billion t | +12.6% |
| 1999 | 1.47 billion t | -8.4% |
| 2000 | 1.52 billion t | +3.0% |
| 2001 | 1.31 billion t | -13.6% |
| 2002 | 1.48 billion t | +12.9% |
| 2003 | 1.57 billion t | +6.3% |
| 2004 | 1.52 billion t | -3.1% |
| 2005 | 1.68 billion t | +10.5% |
| 2006 | 1.50 billion t | -11.0% |
| 2007 | 1.57 billion t | +4.7% |
| 2008 | 1.58 billion t | +0.7% |
| 2009 | 1.42 billion t | -10.0% |
| 2010 | 1.55 billion t | +9.2% |
| 2011 | 1.63 billion t | +4.9% |
| 2012 | 1.49 billion t | -8.7% |
| 2013 | 1.42 billion t | -4.8% |
| 2014 | 1.30 billion t | -8.2% |
| 2015 | 1.33 billion t | +2.4% |
| 2016 | 1.39 billion t | +4.5% |
| 2017 | 1.30 billion t | -6.2% |
| 2018 | 1.25 billion t | -4.0% |
| 2019 | 1.17 billion t | -6.8% |
| 2020 | 1.30 billion t | +11.8% |
| 2021 | 1.35 billion t | +3.8% |
| 2022 | 1.31 billion t | -3.5% |
| 2023 | 1.29 billion t | -1.5% |
| 2024 | 1.28 billion t | -0.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 1.46 billion t | 1.43 billion t | 1.61 billion t | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.52 billion t | 1.31 billion t | 1.68 billion t | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.38 billion t | 1.17 billion t | 1.63 billion t | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.31 billion t | 1.28 billion t | 1.35 billion t | 5 |
Countries ranked near Africa
- 1 OECD 330.89 million t compare
- 2 Australia and New Zealand 295.62 million t compare
- 3 Australia 295.62 million t compare
- 3 Democratic Republic of the Congo 195.68 million t compare
- 4 Angola 223.42 million t compare
- 4 United Republic of Tanzania 47.16 million t compare
- 5 Sudan (former) 191.28 million t compare
- 6 Bolivia (Plurinational State of) 29.32 million t compare
- 6 South Sudan 156.15 million t compare
More climate change data for Africa
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Synthetic fertilizers (Agricultural) 7.12 billion kg (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 778,093 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 263,963 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 514,131 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 996.09 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 18,362 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 114,526 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 60,368 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 54,158 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 227.81 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is savanna fires — burning crop residues in Africa?
- Savanna fires — burning crop residues in Africa was 1.28 billion t in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest savanna fires — burning crop residues recorded in Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 1.68 billion t in 2005.
- What is the lowest savanna fires — burning crop residues recorded in Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.17 billion t in 2019.
- How does Africa rank for savanna fires — burning crop residues?
- Africa ranks 3rd out of 31 groups with data for 2024.
- Is savanna fires — burning crop residues rising or falling in Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 1.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Africa data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Savanna fires — Burning crop residues (Biomass burned, dry matter). 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.