Annual area burnt by wildfires gwis in South Africa
South Africa: Annual area burnt by wildfires gwis was 4.70 million in 2024. ▼ Falling
Latest (2024)
4.70 million
Change on year
down 15.9%
Rank
18th
of 225 groups
All-time high
5.59 million
in 2023
All-time low
1.62 million
in 2016
Years of data
23
2002–2024
Annual area burnt by wildfires gwis in South Africa, 2002–2024
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 4.70 million for annual area burnt by wildfires gwis in 2024.
The figure is down 15.9% on the previous year and up 20.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, annual area burnt by wildfires gwis in South Africa peaked at 5.59 million in 2023 and was at its lowest, 1.62 million, in 2016.
South Africa ranks 18th of 225 groups 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
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 4.21 million | 3.15 million | 5.28 million | 8 |
| 2010s | 3.44 million | 1.62 million | 4.61 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.39 million | 3.04 million | 5.59 million | 5 |
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 gwis in South Africa?
- Annual area burnt by wildfires gwis in South Africa was 4.70 million in 2024, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest annual area burnt by wildfires gwis recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 5.59 million in 2023.
- What is the lowest annual area burnt by wildfires gwis recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.62 million in 2016.
- How does South Africa rank for annual area burnt by wildfires gwis?
- South Africa ranks 18th out of 225 groups with data for 2024.
- Is annual area burnt by wildfires gwis rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 20.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Annual area burnt by wildfires gwis. 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).