Annual area burnt by wildfires by region in Democratic Republic of Congo

Democratic Republic of Congo: Annual area burnt by wildfires by region was 33.96 million hectares in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
33.96 million hectares
Change on year
up 9.7%
World rank
3rd
of 225 countries
All-time high
37.72 million hectares
in 2006
All-time low
30.96 million hectares
in 2023
Years of data
23
2002–2024

Annual area burnt by wildfires by region in Democratic Republic of Congo, 2002–2024

010.0M20.0M30.0M40.0M2002201320242002: 31.3M hectares2003: 35.1M hectares2004: 37.7M hectares2005: 37.0M hectares2006: 37.7M hectares2007: 32.4M hectares2008: 34.6M hectares2009: 34.3M hectares2010: 35.8M hectares2011: 33.8M hectares2012: 32.2M hectares2013: 34.0M hectares2014: 32.2M hectares2015: 34.1M hectares2016: 33.8M hectares2017: 34.6M hectares2018: 31.9M hectares2019: 33.0M hectares2020: 33.5M hectares2021: 33.4M hectares2022: 33.2M hectares2023: 31.0M hectares2024: 34.0M hectares

Source: Global Wildfire Information System (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.

Analysis

Democratic Republic of Congo recorded 33.96 million hectares for annual area burnt by wildfires by region in 2024.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 9.7% on the previous year and up 5.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, annual area burnt by wildfires by region in Democratic Republic of Congo peaked at 37.72 million hectares in 2006 and was at its lowest, 30.96 million hectares, in 2023.

That places Democratic Republic of Congo 3rd 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

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 35.02 million hectares 31.27 million hectares 37.72 million hectares 8
2010s 33.54 million hectares 31.94 million hectares 35.76 million hectares 10
2020s 32.99 million hectares 30.96 million hectares 33.96 million hectares 5

Countries ranked near Democratic Republic of Congo

  1. 1 Angola 37.84 million hectares compare
  2. 2 Australia 35.17 million hectares compare
  3. 4 South Sudan 29.68 million hectares compare
  4. 5 Brazil 25.09 million hectares compare
  5. 6 Zambia 22.15 million hectares compare

See the full ranking of 225 places →

More reference data data for Democratic Republic of Congo

All data for Democratic Republic of Congo →

Frequently asked questions

What is annual area burnt by wildfires by region in Democratic Republic of Congo?
Annual area burnt by wildfires by region in Democratic Republic of Congo was 33.96 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 Democratic Republic of Congo?
The highest recorded value was 37.72 million hectares in 2006.
What is the lowest annual area burnt by wildfires by region recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
The lowest recorded value was 30.96 million hectares in 2023.
How does Democratic Republic of Congo rank for annual area burnt by wildfires by region?
Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 3rd out of 225 countries with data for 2024.
Is annual area burnt by wildfires by region rising or falling in Democratic Republic of Congo?
Over the last ten years it is up 5.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Democratic Republic of Congo 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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About this data

Indicator
Annual area burnt by wildfires by region
Unit
hectares
Source
Global Wildfire Information System (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
225 places, 5,175 data points, 2002–2024
Last refreshed

Total land area burnt by wildfires each year, in hectares, across all land cover types.