Cameroon vs South Africa: Annual area burnt by wildfires by region
Cameroon
2.18 million hectares
in 2025
South Africa
2.59 million hectares
in 2025
Cameroon rank
30th
South Africa rank
27th
Annual area burnt by wildfires by region over time
- Cameroon
- South Africa
How they compare
South Africa currently reports 2.59 million hectares against 2.18 million hectares in Cameroon, a difference of 406,390 hectares.
That makes South Africa's figure about 1.2 times Cameroon's.
The two have swapped places 4 times across 24 shared years of data; in 2002 it was South Africa ahead.
Cameroon ranks 30th and South Africa ranks 27th of 225 countries.
Across the 3 decades both report, Cameroon averaged higher in 1 and South Africa in 2.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Cameroon | South Africa | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 5.24 million hectares | 4.21 million hectares | 1.03 million hectares | Cameroon |
| 2010s | 2.81 million hectares | 3.44 million hectares | 634,790 hectares | South Africa |
| 2020s | 2.39 million hectares | 4.09 million hectares | 1.69 million hectares | South Africa |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher annual area burnt by wildfires by region, Cameroon or South Africa?
- South Africa, at 2.59 million hectares against 2.18 million hectares in Cameroon as of 2025.
- What is the difference in annual area burnt by wildfires by region between Cameroon and South Africa?
- 406,390 hectares, with South Africa ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Cameroon and South Africa?
- 24 years are reported by both, from 2002 to 2025.
- How do Cameroon and South Africa rank globally for annual area burnt by wildfires by region?
- Cameroon ranks 30th and South Africa ranks 27th 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.