Annual area burnt by wildfires by region in Australia
Australia: Annual area burnt by wildfires by region was 50.56 million hectares in 2025. ▼ Falling
Latest (2025)
50.56 million hectares
Change on year
up 43.8%
World rank
1st
of 225 countries
All-time high
90.05 million hectares
in 2012
All-time low
16.92 million hectares
in 2020
Years of data
24
2002–2025
Annual area burnt by wildfires by region in Australia, 2002–2025
Source: Global Wildfire Information System (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
Australia recorded 50.56 million hectares for annual area burnt by wildfires by region in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 43.8% on the previous year and up 19.8% 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 1st out of 225 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 24 years of available data.
Annual area burnt by wildfires by region in Australia, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 77.04 million hectares | — |
| 2003 | 31.66 million hectares | -58.9% |
| 2004 | 63.99 million hectares | +102.1% |
| 2005 | 27.97 million hectares | -56.3% |
| 2006 | 57.61 million hectares | +105.9% |
| 2007 | 51.59 million hectares | -10.4% |
| 2008 | 31.63 million hectares | -38.7% |
| 2009 | 40.79 million hectares | +29.0% |
| 2010 | 18.47 million hectares | -54.7% |
| 2011 | 87.98 million hectares | +376.3% |
| 2012 | 90.05 million hectares | +2.4% |
| 2013 | 28.43 million hectares | -68.4% |
| 2014 | 46.86 million hectares | +64.8% |
| 2015 | 42.22 million hectares | -9.9% |
| 2016 | 24.29 million hectares | -42.5% |
| 2017 | 49.21 million hectares | +102.6% |
| 2018 | 52.22 million hectares | +6.1% |
| 2019 | 36.15 million hectares | -30.8% |
| 2020 | 16.92 million hectares | -53.2% |
| 2021 | 26.61 million hectares | +57.3% |
| 2022 | 28.18 million hectares | +5.9% |
| 2023 | 72.49 million hectares | +157.3% |
| 2024 | 35.17 million hectares | -51.5% |
| 2025 | 50.56 million hectares | +43.8% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 50.56 million hectares is above the median for high income countries, which is 85.86 hectares, 588868.3× the median. (79 countries reporting)
- Australia's 50.56 million hectares is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 665.44 hectares, 75982.6× the median. (35 countries reporting)
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 | 38.32 million hectares | 16.92 million hectares | 72.49 million hectares | 6 |
Countries ranked near Australia
- 2 Angola 34.83 million hectares compare
- 3 Democratic Republic of Congo 31.02 million hectares compare
- 4 South Sudan 26.58 million hectares compare
More reference data data for Australia
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.21 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 28.02 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 38.41 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 2.55 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 38.41 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 4.07 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 6.14 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 118.71 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 170.29 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 13.9 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is annual area burnt by wildfires by region in Australia?
- Annual area burnt by wildfires by region in Australia was 50.56 million hectares in 2025, 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 1st out of 225 countries with data for 2025.
- Is annual area burnt by wildfires by region rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 19.8%. 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.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 24 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.