Annual area burnt by wildfires by region in Ethiopia
Ethiopia: Annual area burnt by wildfires by region was 4.36 million hectares in 2025. ▼ Falling
Annual area burnt by wildfires by region in Ethiopia, 2002–2025
Source: Global Wildfire Information System (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
The most recent figure for annual area burnt by wildfires by region in Ethiopia is 4.36 million hectares, measured in 2025.
That represents a change of up 8.5% on the previous year and down 29.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, annual area burnt by wildfires by region in Ethiopia peaked at 8.45 million hectares in 2002 and was at its lowest, 4.01 million hectares, in 2022.
That places Ethiopia 18th 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 Ethiopia, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 8.45 million hectares | — |
| 2003 | 6.44 million hectares | -23.8% |
| 2004 | 6.72 million hectares | +4.4% |
| 2005 | 7.84 million hectares | +16.7% |
| 2006 | 5.45 million hectares | -30.4% |
| 2007 | 7.28 million hectares | +33.5% |
| 2008 | 5.62 million hectares | -22.8% |
| 2009 | 6.23 million hectares | +10.8% |
| 2010 | 5.41 million hectares | -13.3% |
| 2011 | 5.65 million hectares | +4.5% |
| 2012 | 6.06 million hectares | +7.4% |
| 2013 | 5.90 million hectares | -2.8% |
| 2014 | 5.23 million hectares | -11.3% |
| 2015 | 6.16 million hectares | +17.7% |
| 2016 | 5.90 million hectares | -4.1% |
| 2017 | 4.92 million hectares | -16.7% |
| 2018 | 5.16 million hectares | +4.9% |
| 2019 | 4.41 million hectares | -14.6% |
| 2020 | 4.63 million hectares | +5.1% |
| 2021 | 5.00 million hectares | +7.9% |
| 2022 | 4.01 million hectares | -19.8% |
| 2023 | 4.67 million hectares | +16.5% |
| 2024 | 4.01 million hectares | -14.0% |
| 2025 | 4.36 million hectares | +8.5% |
Ethiopia compared with similar countries
- Ethiopia's 4.36 million hectares is above the median for low income countries, which is 582,455 hectares, 7.5× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Ethiopia's 4.36 million hectares is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 1.23 million hectares, 3.5× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 6.75 million hectares | 5.45 million hectares | 8.45 million hectares | 8 |
| 2010s | 5.48 million hectares | 4.41 million hectares | 6.16 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.44 million hectares | 4.01 million hectares | 5.00 million hectares | 6 |
Countries ranked near Ethiopia
More reference data data for Ethiopia
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.6564 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 20.69 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 25.11 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.37 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 25.11 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 2.2 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 1.1 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 100.94 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 121.79 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 7.47 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is annual area burnt by wildfires by region in Ethiopia?
- Annual area burnt by wildfires by region in Ethiopia was 4.36 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 Ethiopia?
- The highest recorded value was 8.45 million hectares in 2002.
- What is the lowest annual area burnt by wildfires by region recorded in Ethiopia?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.01 million hectares in 2022.
- How does Ethiopia rank for annual area burnt by wildfires by region?
- Ethiopia ranks 18th out of 225 countries with data for 2025.
- Is annual area burnt by wildfires by region rising or falling in Ethiopia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 29.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Ethiopia 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.