Annual area burnt by wildfires by region in Nigeria
Nigeria: Annual area burnt by wildfires by region was 6.70 million hectares in 2024. ▼ Falling
Annual area burnt by wildfires by region in Nigeria, 2002–2024
Source: Global Wildfire Information System (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
Nigeria recorded 6.70 million hectares for annual area burnt by wildfires by region in 2024.
That represents a change of down 9.8% on the previous year and up 16.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, annual area burnt by wildfires by region in Nigeria peaked at 13.64 million hectares in 2005 and was at its lowest, 5.75 million hectares, in 2014.
That places Nigeria 13th out of 225 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 23 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 10.35 million hectares | 6.99 million hectares | 13.64 million hectares | 8 |
| 2010s | 6.89 million hectares | 5.75 million hectares | 9.53 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 7.63 million hectares | 6.70 million hectares | 8.76 million hectares | 5 |
Countries ranked near Nigeria
More reference data data for Nigeria
- Spring temperature anomalies 0.3216 °C (2026)
- Summer temperature anomalies 0.3105 °C (2026)
- Temperature anomalies by month 1.8 °C (2026)
- Universal right to vote in practice 2 (2025)
- Autumn temperature anomalies 0.4187 °C (2025)
- Winter temperature anomalies 1.76 °C (2025)
- Consumer price index 860.32 2010 = 100 (2025)
- Universal right to vote 2 (2025)
- Competitive elections 0 (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote 1 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is annual area burnt by wildfires by region in Nigeria?
- Annual area burnt by wildfires by region in Nigeria was 6.70 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 Nigeria?
- The highest recorded value was 13.64 million hectares in 2005.
- What is the lowest annual area burnt by wildfires by region recorded in Nigeria?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.75 million hectares in 2014.
- How does Nigeria rank for annual area burnt by wildfires by region?
- Nigeria ranks 13th out of 225 countries with data for 2024.
- Is annual area burnt by wildfires by region rising or falling in Nigeria?
- Over the last ten years it is up 16.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Nigeria 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
Total land area burnt by wildfires each year, in hectares, across all land cover types.