Annual area burnt by wildfires by region in South Sudan

South Sudan: Annual area burnt by wildfires by region was 29.68 million hectares in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
29.68 million hectares
Change on year
up 20.3%
World rank
4th
of 225 countries
All-time high
35.33 million hectares
in 2002
All-time low
18.12 million hectares
in 2019
Years of data
23
2002–2024

Annual area burnt by wildfires by region in South Sudan, 2002–2024

010.0M20.0M30.0M40.0M2002201320242002: 35.3M hectares2003: 30.7M hectares2004: 31.8M hectares2005: 34.6M hectares2006: 25.6M hectares2007: 33.2M hectares2008: 31.9M hectares2009: 34.2M hectares2010: 24.7M hectares2011: 32.0M hectares2012: 30.9M hectares2013: 29.0M hectares2014: 29.9M hectares2015: 31.6M hectares2016: 33.2M hectares2017: 26.6M hectares2018: 34.8M hectares2019: 18.1M hectares2020: 30.3M hectares2021: 28.1M hectares2022: 21.4M hectares2023: 24.7M hectares2024: 29.7M hectares

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

Analysis

The most recent figure for annual area burnt by wildfires by region in South Sudan is 29.68 million hectares, measured in 2024.

The figure is up 20.3% on the previous year and down 0.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, annual area burnt by wildfires by region in South Sudan peaked at 35.33 million hectares in 2002 and was at its lowest, 18.12 million hectares, in 2019.

That places South Sudan 4th 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

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 32.17 million hectares 25.58 million hectares 35.33 million hectares 8
2010s 29.08 million hectares 18.12 million hectares 34.78 million hectares 10
2020s 26.84 million hectares 21.36 million hectares 30.34 million hectares 5

Countries ranked near South Sudan

  1. 1 Angola 37.84 million hectares compare
  2. 2 Australia 35.17 million hectares compare
  3. 3 Congo, Dem. Rep. 33.96 million hectares compare
  4. 5 Brazil 25.09 million hectares compare
  5. 6 Zambia 22.15 million hectares compare
  6. 7 Mozambique 17.67 million hectares compare

See the full ranking of 225 places →

More reference data data for South Sudan

All data for South Sudan →

Frequently asked questions

What is annual area burnt by wildfires by region in South Sudan?
Annual area burnt by wildfires by region in South Sudan was 29.68 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 South Sudan?
The highest recorded value was 35.33 million hectares in 2002.
What is the lowest annual area burnt by wildfires by region recorded in South Sudan?
The lowest recorded value was 18.12 million hectares in 2019.
How does South Sudan rank for annual area burnt by wildfires by region?
South Sudan ranks 4th out of 225 countries with data for 2024.
Is annual area burnt by wildfires by region rising or falling in South Sudan?
Over the last ten years it is down 0.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this South Sudan 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.

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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.