Annual area burnt by wildfires by region in Malawi

Malawi: Annual area burnt by wildfires by region was 381,942 hectares in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
381,942 hectares
Change on year
up 10.8%
World rank
56th
of 225 countries
All-time high
693,176 hectares
in 2010
All-time low
344,634 hectares
in 2023
Years of data
23
2002–2024

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

0200.0k400.0k600.0k2002201320242002: 528.4k hectares2003: 689.2k hectares2004: 473.7k hectares2005: 662.1k hectares2006: 467.0k hectares2007: 566.0k hectares2008: 575.8k hectares2009: 395.0k hectares2010: 693.2k hectares2011: 542.1k hectares2012: 650.3k hectares2013: 504.4k hectares2014: 461.8k hectares2015: 503.6k hectares2016: 585.8k hectares2017: 415.6k hectares2018: 560.2k hectares2019: 429.2k hectares2020: 467.8k hectares2021: 388.7k hectares2022: 526.9k hectares2023: 344.6k hectares2024: 381.9k hectares

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

Analysis

Malawi recorded 381,942 hectares for annual area burnt by wildfires by region in 2024.

The figure is up 10.8% on the previous year and down 17.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, annual area burnt by wildfires by region in Malawi peaked at 693,176 hectares in 2010 and was at its lowest, 344,634 hectares, in 2023.

Malawi ranks 56th of 225 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 23 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 544,640 hectares 394,993 hectares 689,205 hectares 8
2010s 534,605 hectares 415,601 hectares 693,176 hectares 10
2020s 422,002 hectares 344,634 hectares 526,880 hectares 5

Countries ranked near Malawi

  1. 53 Nepal 518,465 hectares compare
  2. 54 Iraq 458,661 hectares compare
  3. 55 Honduras 419,701 hectares compare
  4. 57 Guatemala 368,612 hectares compare
  5. 58 Pakistan 366,787 hectares compare
  6. 59 Kenya 352,019 hectares compare

See the full ranking of 225 places →

More reference data data for Malawi

All data for Malawi →

Frequently asked questions

What is annual area burnt by wildfires by region in Malawi?
Annual area burnt by wildfires by region in Malawi was 381,942 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 Malawi?
The highest recorded value was 693,176 hectares in 2010.
What is the lowest annual area burnt by wildfires by region recorded in Malawi?
The lowest recorded value was 344,634 hectares in 2023.
How does Malawi rank for annual area burnt by wildfires by region?
Malawi ranks 56th out of 225 countries with data for 2024.
Is annual area burnt by wildfires by region rising or falling in Malawi?
Over the last ten years it is down 17.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Malawi 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 — 23 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

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.