Australia vs Democratic Republic of Congo: Annual number of wildfires

Australia
20,782 wildfires
in 2026
Democratic Republic of Congo
44,861 wildfires
in 2026
Australia rank
3rd
Democratic Republic of Congo rank
1st

Annual number of wildfires over time

  • Australia
  • Democratic Republic of Congo
25.0k50.0k75.0k100.0k125.0k201220192026

How they compare

Democratic Republic of Congo currently reports 44,861 wildfires against 20,782 wildfires in Australia, a difference of 24,079 wildfires.

That makes Democratic Republic of Congo's figure about 2.2 times Australia's.

Across all 15 years both countries report, Democratic Republic of Congo has been ahead every year.

Australia ranks 3rd and Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 1st of 248 countries.

Democratic Republic of Congo has averaged higher in every one of the 2 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade Australia Democratic Republic of Congo Difference Ahead
2010s 40,625 wildfires 117,564 wildfires 76,939 wildfires Democratic Republic of Congo
2020s 35,314 wildfires 99,364 wildfires 64,050 wildfires Democratic Republic of Congo

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher annual number of wildfires, Australia or Democratic Republic of Congo?
Democratic Republic of Congo, at 44,861 wildfires against 20,782 wildfires in Australia as of 2026.
What is the difference in annual number of wildfires between Australia and Democratic Republic of Congo?
24,079 wildfires, with Democratic Republic of Congo ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Australia and Democratic Republic of Congo?
15 years are reported by both, from 2012 to 2026.
How do Australia and Democratic Republic of Congo rank globally for annual number of wildfires?
Australia ranks 3rd and Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 1st of 248 countries.
Where does this data come from?
Global Wildfire Information System (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Annual number of wildfires. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

About this data

Indicator
Annual number of wildfires
Unit
wildfires
Source
Global Wildfire Information System (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
248 places, 3,720 data points, 2012–2026
Last refreshed

Number of wildfires. The 2026 data is incomplete and was last updated 07 August 2026.