Annual area burnt by wildfires by region in Australia
Australia: Annual area burnt by wildfires by region was 35.17 million hectares in 2024. ▼ Falling
Annual area burnt by wildfires by region in Australia, 2002–2024
Source: Global Wildfire Information System (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
Australia recorded 35.17 million hectares for annual area burnt by wildfires by region in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 51.5% on the previous year and down 24.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, annual area burnt by wildfires by region in Australia peaked at 90.05 million hectares in 2012 and was at its lowest, 16.92 million hectares, in 2020.
That places Australia 2nd out of 225 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 23 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 47.78 million hectares | 27.97 million hectares | 77.04 million hectares | 8 |
| 2010s | 47.59 million hectares | 18.47 million hectares | 90.05 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 35.87 million hectares | 16.92 million hectares | 72.49 million hectares | 5 |
Countries ranked near Australia
- 1 Angola 37.84 million hectares compare
- 3 Democratic Republic of Congo 33.96 million hectares compare
- 4 South Sudan 29.68 million hectares compare
- 5 Brazil 25.09 million hectares compare
More reference data data for Australia
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- Summer temperature anomalies 0.8615 °C (2026)
- Temperature anomalies by month 1.13 °C (2026)
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- Autumn temperature anomalies 0.0026 °C (2025)
- Winter temperature anomalies 0.4713 °C (2025)
- Consumer price index 148.46 2010 = 100 (2025)
- Universal right to vote 2 (2025)
- Competitive elections 1 (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote 1 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is annual area burnt by wildfires by region in Australia?
- Annual area burnt by wildfires by region in Australia was 35.17 million hectares in 2024, according to Global Wildfire Information System (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest annual area burnt by wildfires by region recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 90.05 million hectares in 2012.
- What is the lowest annual area burnt by wildfires by region recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 16.92 million hectares in 2020.
- How does Australia rank for annual area burnt by wildfires by region?
- Australia ranks 2nd out of 225 countries with data for 2024.
- Is annual area burnt by wildfires by region rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 24.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from Global Wildfire Information System (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Annual area burnt by wildfires by region. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 23 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Total land area burnt by wildfires each year, in hectares, across all land cover types.