Australia vs Costa Rica: Share of the total land area burnt by wildfires each year
Australia
1.7%
in 2026
Costa Rica
1.9%
in 2026
Australia rank
31st
Costa Rica rank
29th
Share of the total land area burnt by wildfires each year over time
- Australia
- Costa Rica
How they compare
Costa Rica currently reports 1.9% against 1.7% in Australia, a difference of 0.2%.
That makes Costa Rica's figure about 1.1 times Australia's.
The two have swapped places 3 times across 15 shared years of data; in 2012 it was Australia ahead.
Australia ranks 31st and Costa Rica ranks 29th of 236 countries.
Australia has averaged higher in every one of the 2 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Australia | Costa Rica | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 4.8% | 2.3% | 2.4% | Australia |
| 2020s | 3.8% | 1.5% | 2.3% | Australia |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of the total land area burnt by wildfires each year, Australia or Costa Rica?
- Costa Rica, at 1.9% against 1.7% in Australia as of 2026.
- What is the difference in share of the total land area burnt by wildfires each year between Australia and Costa Rica?
- 0.2%, with Costa Rica ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Australia and Costa Rica?
- 15 years are reported by both, from 2012 to 2026.
- How do Australia and Costa Rica rank globally for share of the total land area burnt by wildfires each year?
- Australia ranks 31st and Costa Rica ranks 29th of 236 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Global Wildfire Information System (2026); Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Share of the total land area burnt by wildfires each year. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
The total area consumed by wildfires is recorded for each fire event, even if fires occur in the same location multiple times. The 2026 data is incomplete and was last updated 28 August 2026.