Botswana vs Nigeria: Area burned by wildfires by land cover type
Botswana
2.59 million hectares
in 2025
Nigeria
2.89 million hectares
in 2025
Botswana rank
13th
Nigeria rank
12th
Area burned by wildfires by land cover type over time
- Botswana
- Nigeria
How they compare
Nigeria currently reports 2.89 million hectares against 2.59 million hectares in Botswana, a difference of 304,970 hectares.
That makes Nigeria's figure about 1.1 times Botswana's.
The two have swapped places 11 times across 24 shared years of data; in 2002 it was Botswana ahead.
Botswana ranks 13th and Nigeria ranks 12th of 225 countries.
Botswana has averaged higher in every one of the 3 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Botswana | Nigeria | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 4.40 million hectares | 4.17 million hectares | 231,060 hectares | Botswana |
| 2010s | 5.35 million hectares | 2.86 million hectares | 2.50 million hectares | Botswana |
| 2020s | 6.11 million hectares | 3.14 million hectares | 2.97 million hectares | Botswana |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher area burned by wildfires by land cover type, Botswana or Nigeria?
- Nigeria, at 2.89 million hectares against 2.59 million hectares in Botswana as of 2025.
- What is the difference in area burned by wildfires by land cover type between Botswana and Nigeria?
- 304,970 hectares, with Nigeria ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Botswana and Nigeria?
- 24 years are reported by both, from 2002 to 2025.
- How do Botswana and Nigeria rank globally for area burned by wildfires by land cover type?
- Botswana ranks 13th and Nigeria ranks 12th of 225 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Global Wildfire Information System (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Area burned by wildfires by land cover type. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Area of shrubland and grassland burnt by wildfires each year, in hectares. Includes open and closed shrublands and grasslands without a significant tree cover.