Annual area burnt by wildfires by region in Tanzania

Tanzania: Annual area burnt by wildfires by region was 8.40 million hectares in 2025. ▼ Falling

Latest (2025)
8.40 million hectares
Change on year
up 3.7%
World rank
10th
of 225 countries
All-time high
17.58 million hectares
in 2005
All-time low
8.10 million hectares
in 2024
Years of data
24
2002–2025

Annual area burnt by wildfires by region in Tanzania, 2002–2025

05.0M10.0M15.0M20.0M2002201320252002: 12.7M hectares2003: 17.3M hectares2004: 15.0M hectares2005: 17.6M hectares2006: 11.3M hectares2007: 15.1M hectares2008: 14.1M hectares2009: 14.9M hectares2010: 15.8M hectares2011: 13.1M hectares2012: 14.5M hectares2013: 12.8M hectares2014: 11.3M hectares2015: 13.0M hectares2016: 12.5M hectares2017: 10.2M hectares2018: 9.5M hectares2019: 10.3M hectares2020: 9.9M hectares2021: 10.0M hectares2022: 8.9M hectares2023: 8.2M hectares2024: 8.1M hectares2025: 8.4M 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 Tanzania is 8.40 million hectares, measured in 2025.

That represents a change of up 3.7% on the previous year and down 35.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, annual area burnt by wildfires by region in Tanzania peaked at 17.58 million hectares in 2005 and was at its lowest, 8.10 million hectares, in 2024.

Tanzania ranks 10th of 225 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 24 years of available data.

Annual area burnt by wildfires by region in Tanzania, year by year

Annual values for Annual area burnt by wildfires by region in Tanzania, 2002 to 2025.
Year hectares Change
2002 12.70 million hectares
2003 17.30 million hectares +36.2%
2004 14.96 million hectares -13.6%
2005 17.58 million hectares +17.5%
2006 11.30 million hectares -35.7%
2007 15.05 million hectares +33.2%
2008 14.15 million hectares -6.0%
2009 14.90 million hectares +5.3%
2010 15.77 million hectares +5.9%
2011 13.07 million hectares -17.2%
2012 14.51 million hectares +11.0%
2013 12.77 million hectares -12.0%
2014 11.26 million hectares -11.8%
2015 13.03 million hectares +15.7%
2016 12.55 million hectares -3.7%
2017 10.22 million hectares -18.6%
2018 9.46 million hectares -7.4%
2019 10.31 million hectares +9.0%
2020 9.87 million hectares -4.3%
2021 10.00 million hectares +1.2%
2022 8.95 million hectares -10.5%
2023 8.24 million hectares -7.9%
2024 8.10 million hectares -1.7%
2025 8.40 million hectares +3.7%

Tanzania compared with similar countries

  • Tanzania's 8.40 million hectares is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 283,554 hectares, 29.6× the median. (46 countries reporting)
  • Tanzania's 8.40 million hectares is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 1.23 million hectares, 6.8× the median. (48 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 14.74 million hectares 11.30 million hectares 17.58 million hectares 8
2010s 12.30 million hectares 9.46 million hectares 15.77 million hectares 10
2020s 8.93 million hectares 8.10 million hectares 10.00 million hectares 6

Countries ranked near Tanzania

  1. 7 Central African Republic 13.20 million hectares compare
  2. 8 Brazil 10.29 million hectares compare
  3. 9 Sudan 9.57 million hectares compare
  4. 11 Mali 7.30 million hectares compare
  5. 12 Nigeria 6.52 million hectares compare
  6. 13 Chad 6.35 million hectares compare

See the full ranking of 225 places →

More reference data data for Tanzania

All data for Tanzania →

Frequently asked questions

What is annual area burnt by wildfires by region in Tanzania?
Annual area burnt by wildfires by region in Tanzania was 8.40 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 Tanzania?
The highest recorded value was 17.58 million hectares in 2005.
What is the lowest annual area burnt by wildfires by region recorded in Tanzania?
The lowest recorded value was 8.10 million hectares in 2024.
How does Tanzania rank for annual area burnt by wildfires by region?
Tanzania ranks 10th out of 225 countries with data for 2025.
Is annual area burnt by wildfires by region rising or falling in Tanzania?
Over the last ten years it is down 35.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Tanzania 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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Annual area burnt by wildfires by region in Tanzania. Statizoid, drawing on Global Wildfire Information System (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 23 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/annual-area-burnt-by-wildfires-gwis/tanzania/

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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, 5,400 data points, 2002–2025
Last refreshed

Total land area burnt by wildfires each year, in hectares, across all land cover types.