Annual area burnt by wildfires by region in Madagascar

Madagascar: Annual area burnt by wildfires by region was 3.94 million hectares in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
3.94 million hectares
Change on year
up 35.7%
World rank
23rd
of 225 countries
All-time high
6.10 million hectares
in 2003
All-time low
2.91 million hectares
in 2023
Years of data
23
2002–2024

Annual area burnt by wildfires by region in Madagascar, 2002–2024

02.0M4.0M6.0M2002201320242002: 3.4M hectares2003: 6.1M hectares2004: 3.6M hectares2005: 6.0M hectares2006: 4.1M hectares2007: 5.9M hectares2008: 3.7M hectares2009: 4.5M hectares2010: 4.3M hectares2011: 4.2M hectares2012: 4.3M hectares2013: 4.0M hectares2014: 3.3M hectares2015: 3.5M hectares2016: 4.9M hectares2017: 3.2M hectares2018: 3.3M hectares2019: 3.5M hectares2020: 3.7M hectares2021: 3.1M hectares2022: 3.0M hectares2023: 2.9M hectares2024: 3.9M hectares

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 Madagascar is 3.94 million hectares, measured in 2024.

That represents a change of up 35.7% on the previous year and up 18.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, annual area burnt by wildfires by region in Madagascar peaked at 6.10 million hectares in 2003 and was at its lowest, 2.91 million hectares, in 2023.

Madagascar ranks 23rd of 225 countries on this measure, 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 4.66 million hectares 3.43 million hectares 6.10 million hectares 8
2010s 3.85 million hectares 3.22 million hectares 4.86 million hectares 10
2020s 3.33 million hectares 2.91 million hectares 3.94 million hectares 5

Countries ranked near Madagascar

  1. 20 Congo 4.53 million hectares compare
  2. 21 Senegal 4.15 million hectares compare
  3. 22 Ethiopia 4.01 million hectares compare
  4. 24 China 3.83 million hectares compare
  5. 25 United States 3.81 million hectares compare
  6. 26 Burkina Faso 3.77 million hectares compare

See the full ranking of 225 places →

More reference data data for Madagascar

All data for Madagascar →

Frequently asked questions

What is annual area burnt by wildfires by region in Madagascar?
Annual area burnt by wildfires by region in Madagascar was 3.94 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 Madagascar?
The highest recorded value was 6.10 million hectares in 2003.
What is the lowest annual area burnt by wildfires by region recorded in Madagascar?
The lowest recorded value was 2.91 million hectares in 2023.
How does Madagascar rank for annual area burnt by wildfires by region?
Madagascar ranks 23rd out of 225 countries with data for 2024.
Is annual area burnt by wildfires by region rising or falling in Madagascar?
Over the last ten years it is up 18.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Madagascar 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.