Annual area burnt by wildfires in Cameroon

Cameroon: Annual area burnt by wildfires was 1.44 million hectares in 2026. ▼ Falling

Latest (2026)
1.44 million hectares
Change on year
down 48.2%
World rank
23rd
of 248 countries
All-time high
4.39 million hectares
in 2020
All-time low
1.44 million hectares
in 2026
Years of data
15
2012–2026

Annual area burnt by wildfires in Cameroon, 2012–2026

1.0M2.0M3.0M4.0M2012201920262012: 3.1M hectares2013: 3.3M hectares2014: 3.3M hectares2015: 3.3M hectares2016: 3.9M hectares2017: 4.0M hectares2018: 2.2M hectares2019: 3.4M hectares2020: 4.4M hectares2021: 4.3M hectares2022: 3.6M hectares2023: 3.7M hectares2024: 2.5M hectares2025: 2.8M hectares2026: 1.4M hectares

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

Analysis

In 2026, annual area burnt by wildfires in Cameroon stood at 1.44 million hectares. That is the lowest value across all 15 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 48.2% on the previous year and down 63.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, annual area burnt by wildfires in Cameroon peaked at 4.39 million hectares in 2020 and was at its lowest, 1.44 million hectares, in 2026.

Cameroon ranks 23rd of 248 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

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

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2010s 3.32 million hectares 2.15 million hectares 4.00 million hectares 8
2020s 3.23 million hectares 1.44 million hectares 4.39 million hectares 7

Countries ranked near Cameroon

  1. 20 Ghana 1.76 million hectares compare
  2. 21 Cambodia 1.53 million hectares compare
  3. 22 Mali 1.49 million hectares compare
  4. 24 Chad 1.31 million hectares compare
  5. 25 Mexico 1.28 million hectares compare
  6. 26 Tanzania 1.22 million hectares compare

See the full ranking of 248 places →

More reference data data for Cameroon

All data for Cameroon →

Frequently asked questions

What is annual area burnt by wildfires in Cameroon?
Annual area burnt by wildfires in Cameroon was 1.44 million 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 Cameroon?
The highest recorded value was 4.39 million hectares in 2020.
What is the lowest annual area burnt by wildfires recorded in Cameroon?
The lowest recorded value was 1.44 million hectares in 2026.
How does Cameroon rank for annual area burnt by wildfires?
Cameroon ranks 23rd out of 248 countries with data for 2026.
Is annual area burnt by wildfires rising or falling in Cameroon?
Over the last ten years it is down 63.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Cameroon 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.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 15 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

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.