Australia vs Democratic Republic of Congo: Annual area burnt by wildfires by region
Australia
35.17 million hectares
in 2024
Democratic Republic of Congo
33.96 million hectares
in 2024
Australia rank
2nd
Democratic Republic of Congo rank
3rd
Annual area burnt by wildfires by region over time
- Australia
- Democratic Republic of Congo
How they compare
Australia currently reports 35.17 million hectares against 33.96 million hectares in Democratic Republic of Congo, a difference of 1.21 million hectares.
The two have swapped places 14 times across 23 shared years of data; in 2002 it was Australia ahead.
Australia ranks 2nd and Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 3rd of 225 countries.
Australia has averaged higher in every one of the 3 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Australia | Democratic Republic of Congo | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 47.78 million hectares | 35.02 million hectares | 12.77 million hectares | Australia |
| 2010s | 47.59 million hectares | 33.54 million hectares | 14.05 million hectares | Australia |
| 2020s | 35.87 million hectares | 32.99 million hectares | 2.88 million hectares | Australia |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher annual area burnt by wildfires by region, Australia or Democratic Republic of Congo?
- Australia, at 35.17 million hectares against 33.96 million hectares in Democratic Republic of Congo as of 2024.
- What is the difference in annual area burnt by wildfires by region between Australia and Democratic Republic of Congo?
- 1.21 million hectares, with Australia ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Australia and Democratic Republic of Congo?
- 23 years are reported by both, from 2002 to 2024.
- How do Australia and Democratic Republic of Congo rank globally for annual area burnt by wildfires by region?
- Australia ranks 2nd and Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 3rd of 225 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Global Wildfire Information System (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Annual area burnt by wildfires by region. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Total land area burnt by wildfires each year, in hectares, across all land cover types.