China vs United States: Annual area burnt by wildfires by region
China
2.62 million hectares
in 2025
United States
2.56 million hectares
in 2025
China rank
25th
United States rank
28th
Annual area burnt by wildfires by region over time
- China
- United States
How they compare
China currently reports 2.62 million hectares against 2.56 million hectares in United States, a difference of 62,070 hectares.
The two have swapped places 11 times across 24 shared years of data; in 2002 it was United States ahead.
China ranks 25th and United States ranks 28th of 225 countries.
Across the 3 decades both report, China averaged higher in 1 and United States in 2.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | United States | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 3.08 million hectares | 3.40 million hectares | 322,064 hectares | United States |
| 2010s | 3.44 million hectares | 3.24 million hectares | 199,209 hectares | China |
| 2020s | 2.76 million hectares | 3.44 million hectares | 684,045 hectares | United States |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher annual area burnt by wildfires by region, China or United States?
- China, at 2.62 million hectares against 2.56 million hectares in United States as of 2025.
- What is the difference in annual area burnt by wildfires by region between China and United States?
- 62,070 hectares, with China ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and United States?
- 24 years are reported by both, from 2002 to 2025.
- How do China and United States rank globally for annual area burnt by wildfires by region?
- China ranks 25th and United States ranks 28th 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.