Australia vs India: Annual number of wildfires

Australia
20,782 wildfires
in 2026
India
13,557 wildfires
in 2026
Australia rank
3rd
India rank
5th

Annual number of wildfires over time

  • Australia
  • India
10.0k20.0k30.0k40.0k50.0k60.0k201220192026

How they compare

Australia currently reports 20,782 wildfires against 13,557 wildfires in India, a difference of 7,225 wildfires.

That makes Australia's figure about 1.5 times India's.

Across all 15 years both countries report, Australia has been ahead every year.

Australia ranks 3rd and India ranks 5th of 248 countries.

Australia has averaged higher in every one of the 2 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade Australia India Difference Ahead
2010s 40,625 wildfires 21,711 wildfires 18,914 wildfires Australia
2020s 35,314 wildfires 19,535 wildfires 15,779 wildfires Australia

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher annual number of wildfires, Australia or India?
Australia, at 20,782 wildfires against 13,557 wildfires in India as of 2026.
What is the difference in annual number of wildfires between Australia and India?
7,225 wildfires, with Australia ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Australia and India?
15 years are reported by both, from 2012 to 2026.
How do Australia and India rank globally for annual number of wildfires?
Australia ranks 3rd and India ranks 5th 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.