Annual area burnt by wildfires by region in South Africa
South Africa: Annual area burnt by wildfires by region was 2.59 million hectares in 2025. ▼ Falling
Latest (2025)
2.59 million hectares
Change on year
down 45.0%
World rank
27th
of 225 countries
All-time high
5.59 million hectares
in 2023
All-time low
1.62 million hectares
in 2016
Years of data
24
2002–2025
Annual area burnt by wildfires by region in South Africa, 2002–2025
Source: Global Wildfire Information System (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 2.59 million hectares for annual area burnt by wildfires by region in 2025.
The figure is down 45.0% on the previous year and down 6.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, annual area burnt by wildfires by region in South Africa peaked at 5.59 million hectares in 2023 and was at its lowest, 1.62 million hectares, in 2016.
South Africa ranks 27th 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 South Africa, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 5.28 million hectares | — |
| 2003 | 3.78 million hectares | -28.3% |
| 2004 | 3.15 million hectares | -16.7% |
| 2005 | 5.17 million hectares | +64.1% |
| 2006 | 3.81 million hectares | -26.3% |
| 2007 | 4.13 million hectares | +8.2% |
| 2008 | 4.18 million hectares | +1.4% |
| 2009 | 4.16 million hectares | -0.7% |
| 2010 | 4.61 million hectares | +11.0% |
| 2011 | 4.45 million hectares | -3.5% |
| 2012 | 4.06 million hectares | -8.8% |
| 2013 | 3.86 million hectares | -4.9% |
| 2014 | 3.90 million hectares | +1.0% |
| 2015 | 2.76 million hectares | -29.2% |
| 2016 | 1.62 million hectares | -41.1% |
| 2017 | 3.10 million hectares | +90.5% |
| 2018 | 3.19 million hectares | +2.9% |
| 2019 | 2.85 million hectares | -10.5% |
| 2020 | 3.04 million hectares | +6.4% |
| 2021 | 5.18 million hectares | +70.8% |
| 2022 | 3.42 million hectares | -34.0% |
| 2023 | 5.59 million hectares | +63.4% |
| 2024 | 4.70 million hectares | -15.9% |
| 2025 | 2.59 million hectares | -45.0% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 2.59 million hectares is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 23,022 hectares, 112.4× the median. (56 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 2.59 million hectares is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 1.23 million hectares, 2.1× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 4.21 million hectares | 3.15 million hectares | 5.28 million hectares | 8 |
| 2010s | 3.44 million hectares | 1.62 million hectares | 4.61 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.09 million hectares | 2.59 million hectares | 5.59 million hectares | 6 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More reference data data for South Africa
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.5111 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 8.71 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 13.63 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.7468 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 13.63 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.71 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 1.49 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 41.1 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 63.65 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 4.07 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is annual area burnt by wildfires by region in South Africa?
- Annual area burnt by wildfires by region in South Africa was 2.59 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 South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 5.59 million hectares in 2023.
- What is the lowest annual area burnt by wildfires by region recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.62 million hectares in 2016.
- How does South Africa rank for annual area burnt by wildfires by region?
- South Africa ranks 27th out of 225 countries with data for 2025.
- Is annual area burnt by wildfires by region rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 6.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Africa 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.