Annual area burnt by wildfires by region in Malawi
Malawi: Annual area burnt by wildfires by region was 385,312 hectares in 2025. ▼ Falling
Annual area burnt by wildfires by region in Malawi, 2002–2025
Source: Global Wildfire Information System (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
Malawi recorded 385,312 hectares for annual area burnt by wildfires by region in 2025.
The figure is up 0.9% on the previous year and down 23.5% 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 53rd of 225 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 24 years of available data.
Annual area burnt by wildfires by region in Malawi, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 528,361 hectares | — |
| 2003 | 689,205 hectares | +30.4% |
| 2004 | 473,666 hectares | -31.3% |
| 2005 | 662,072 hectares | +39.8% |
| 2006 | 466,968 hectares | -29.5% |
| 2007 | 566,012 hectares | +21.2% |
| 2008 | 575,843 hectares | +1.7% |
| 2009 | 394,993 hectares | -31.4% |
| 2010 | 693,176 hectares | +75.5% |
| 2011 | 542,056 hectares | -21.8% |
| 2012 | 650,330 hectares | +20.0% |
| 2013 | 504,362 hectares | -22.4% |
| 2014 | 461,752 hectares | -8.4% |
| 2015 | 503,611 hectares | +9.1% |
| 2016 | 585,846 hectares | +16.3% |
| 2017 | 415,601 hectares | -29.1% |
| 2018 | 560,152 hectares | +34.8% |
| 2019 | 429,167 hectares | -23.4% |
| 2020 | 467,806 hectares | +9.0% |
| 2021 | 388,747 hectares | -16.9% |
| 2022 | 526,880 hectares | +35.5% |
| 2023 | 344,634 hectares | -34.6% |
| 2024 | 381,942 hectares | +10.8% |
| 2025 | 385,312 hectares | +0.9% |
Malawi compared with similar countries
- Malawi's 385,312 hectares is below the median for low income countries, which is 582,455 hectares, 66% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Malawi's 385,312 hectares is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 1.23 million hectares, 31% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 544,640 hectares | 394,993 hectares | 689,205 hectares | 8 |
| 2010s | 534,605 hectares | 415,601 hectares | 693,176 hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 415,887 hectares | 344,634 hectares | 526,880 hectares | 6 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
More reference data data for Malawi
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.1596 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.09 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 3.71 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.3426 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 3.71 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.5353 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.6012 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 4.92 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 16.7 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.87 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is annual area burnt by wildfires by region in Malawi?
- Annual area burnt by wildfires by region in Malawi was 385,312 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 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 53rd out of 225 countries with data for 2025.
- Is annual area burnt by wildfires by region rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is down 23.5%. 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 — 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.