Annual area burnt by wildfires in Benin

Benin: Annual area burnt by wildfires was 343,416 hectares in 2026. ▼ Falling

Latest (2026)
343,416 hectares
Change on year
down 44.9%
World rank
43rd
of 248 countries
All-time high
1.55 million hectares
in 2013
All-time low
343,416 hectares
in 2026
Years of data
15
2012–2026

Annual area burnt by wildfires in Benin, 2012–2026

250.0k500.0k750.0k1.0M1.2M1.5M2012201920262012: 1.3M hectares2013: 1.6M hectares2014: 1.4M hectares2015: 1.3M hectares2016: 1.3M hectares2017: 1.4M hectares2018: 489.6k hectares2019: 1.1M hectares2020: 1.0M hectares2021: 1.1M hectares2022: 933.7k hectares2023: 742.1k hectares2024: 675.8k hectares2025: 623.1k hectares2026: 343.4k 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 in Benin is 343,416 hectares, measured in 2026. That is the lowest value across all 15 years on record.

That represents a change of down 44.9% on the previous year and down 74.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, annual area burnt by wildfires in Benin peaked at 1.55 million hectares in 2013 and was at its lowest, 343,416 hectares, in 2026.

Benin ranks 43rd of 248 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 15 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2010s 1.22 million hectares 489,603 hectares 1.55 million hectares 8
2020s 785,107 hectares 343,416 hectares 1.14 million hectares 7

Countries ranked near Benin

  1. 40 Kazakhstan 458,731 hectares compare
  2. 41 Cote d'Ivoire 451,527 hectares compare
  3. 42 Paraguay 427,928 hectares compare
  4. 44 Honduras 322,042 hectares compare
  5. 45 Chile 304,983 hectares compare
  6. 46 Vietnam 285,245 hectares compare

See the full ranking of 248 places →

More reference data data for Benin

All data for Benin →

Frequently asked questions

What is annual area burnt by wildfires in Benin?
Annual area burnt by wildfires in Benin was 343,416 hectares in 2026, according to Global Wildfire Information System (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest annual area burnt by wildfires recorded in Benin?
The highest recorded value was 1.55 million hectares in 2013.
What is the lowest annual area burnt by wildfires recorded in Benin?
The lowest recorded value was 343,416 hectares in 2026.
How does Benin rank for annual area burnt by wildfires?
Benin ranks 43rd out of 248 countries with data for 2026.
Is annual area burnt by wildfires rising or falling in Benin?
Over the last ten years it is down 74.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Benin 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. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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About this data

Indicator
Annual area burnt by wildfires
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
248 places, 3,720 data points, 2012–2026
Last refreshed

Area burnt by wildfires in hectares. The 2026 data is incomplete and was last updated 07 August 2026.