Annual area burnt by wildfires gwis in Democratic Republic of Congo
Democratic Republic of Congo: Annual area burnt by wildfires gwis was 31.02 million in 2025. ▼ Falling
Latest (2025)
31.02 million
Change on year
down 8.7%
World rank
3rd
of 225 countries
All-time high
37.72 million
in 2006
All-time low
30.96 million
in 2023
Years of data
24
2002–2025
Annual area burnt by wildfires gwis in Democratic Republic of Congo, 2002–2025
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
Democratic Republic of Congo recorded 31.02 million for annual area burnt by wildfires gwis in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 8.7% on the previous year and down 8.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, annual area burnt by wildfires gwis in Democratic Republic of Congo peaked at 37.72 million in 2006 and was at its lowest, 30.96 million, in 2023.
That places Democratic Republic of Congo 3rd 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 gwis in Democratic Republic of Congo, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 31.27 million | — |
| 2003 | 35.11 million | +12.3% |
| 2004 | 37.71 million | +7.4% |
| 2005 | 37.02 million | -1.8% |
| 2006 | 37.72 million | +1.9% |
| 2007 | 32.36 million | -14.2% |
| 2008 | 34.63 million | +7.0% |
| 2009 | 34.33 million | -0.9% |
| 2010 | 35.76 million | +4.2% |
| 2011 | 33.76 million | -5.6% |
| 2012 | 32.19 million | -4.6% |
| 2013 | 34.01 million | +5.7% |
| 2014 | 32.25 million | -5.2% |
| 2015 | 34.06 million | +5.6% |
| 2016 | 33.84 million | -0.6% |
| 2017 | 34.60 million | +2.2% |
| 2018 | 31.94 million | -7.7% |
| 2019 | 32.97 million | +3.2% |
| 2020 | 33.48 million | +1.6% |
| 2021 | 33.36 million | -0.4% |
| 2022 | 33.20 million | -0.5% |
| 2023 | 30.96 million | -6.8% |
| 2024 | 33.96 million | +9.7% |
| 2025 | 31.02 million | -8.7% |
Democratic Republic of Congo compared with similar countries
- Democratic Republic of Congo's 31.02 million is above the median for low income countries, which is 582,455, 53.3× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Democratic Republic of Congo's 31.02 million is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 1.23 million, 25.2× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 35.02 million | 31.27 million | 37.72 million | 8 |
| 2010s | 33.54 million | 31.94 million | 35.76 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 32.66 million | 30.96 million | 33.96 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near Democratic Republic of Congo
- 1 Australia 50.56 million compare
- 2 Angola 34.83 million compare
- 4 South Sudan 26.58 million compare
- 5 Zambia 22.77 million compare
- 6 Mozambique 16.49 million compare
More reference data data for Democratic Republic of Congo
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - Manure Management 380.5 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.18 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 9.9 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - IPCC Agriculture 3,062 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - Manure applied 313.43 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - Crop Residues 483.39 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - Burning - Crop 57.74 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - Agricultural 2,624 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Burning - Crop residues 0.2179 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - Manure left on 1,764 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is annual area burnt by wildfires gwis in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- Annual area burnt by wildfires gwis in Democratic Republic of Congo was 31.02 million in 2025, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest annual area burnt by wildfires gwis recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- The highest recorded value was 37.72 million in 2006.
- What is the lowest annual area burnt by wildfires gwis recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- The lowest recorded value was 30.96 million in 2023.
- How does Democratic Republic of Congo rank for annual area burnt by wildfires gwis?
- Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 3rd out of 225 countries with data for 2025.
- Is annual area burnt by wildfires gwis rising or falling in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- Over the last ten years it is down 8.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Democratic Republic of Congo data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Annual area burnt by wildfires gwis. 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).