Annual area burnt by wildfires in Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso: Annual area burnt by wildfires was 554,128 hectares in 2026. ▲ Rising
Annual area burnt by wildfires in Burkina Faso, 2012–2026
Source: Global Wildfire Information System (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
Burkina Faso recorded 554,128 hectares for annual area burnt by wildfires in 2026.
The figure is down 67.9% on the previous year and down 61.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, annual area burnt by wildfires in Burkina Faso peaked at 2.27 million hectares in 2024 and was at its lowest, 435,401 hectares, in 2018.
That places Burkina Faso 44th out of 248 countries with data for 2026, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 15 years of available data.
Annual area burnt by wildfires in Burkina Faso, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 1.14 million hectares | — |
| 2013 | 1.55 million hectares | +35.4% |
| 2014 | 1.30 million hectares | -16.1% |
| 2015 | 1.19 million hectares | -8.4% |
| 2016 | 1.43 million hectares | +20.3% |
| 2017 | 1.45 million hectares | +0.9% |
| 2018 | 435,401 hectares | -69.9% |
| 2019 | 1.08 million hectares | +148.6% |
| 2020 | 1.18 million hectares | +9.0% |
| 2021 | 1.45 million hectares | +22.9% |
| 2022 | 997,114 hectares | -31.2% |
| 2023 | 1.70 million hectares | +70.5% |
| 2024 | 2.27 million hectares | +33.3% |
| 2025 | 1.73 million hectares | -23.8% |
| 2026 | 554,128 hectares | -67.9% |
Burkina Faso compared with similar countries
- Burkina Faso's 554,128 hectares is above the median for low income countries, which is 198,497 hectares, 2.8× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Burkina Faso's 554,128 hectares is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 506,694 hectares, 1.1× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 1.20 million hectares | 435,401 hectares | 1.55 million hectares | 8 |
| 2020s | 1.41 million hectares | 554,128 hectares | 2.27 million hectares | 7 |
Countries ranked near Burkina Faso
More reference data data for Burkina Faso
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.9232 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 7.39 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 9.33 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.4137 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 9.33 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 3.1 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 3.61 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 33.78 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 45.27 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 2.25 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is annual area burnt by wildfires in Burkina Faso?
- Annual area burnt by wildfires in Burkina Faso was 554,128 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 Burkina Faso?
- The highest recorded value was 2.27 million hectares in 2024.
- What is the lowest annual area burnt by wildfires recorded in Burkina Faso?
- The lowest recorded value was 435,401 hectares in 2018.
- How does Burkina Faso rank for annual area burnt by wildfires?
- Burkina Faso ranks 44th out of 248 countries with data for 2026.
- Is annual area burnt by wildfires rising or falling in Burkina Faso?
- Over the last ten years it is down 61.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Burkina Faso 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
Area burnt by wildfires in hectares. The 2026 data is incomplete and was last updated 18 September 2026.