Annual area burnt by wildfires in Cameroon
Cameroon: Annual area burnt by wildfires was 1.44 million in 2026. ▼ Falling
Latest (2026)
1.44 million
Change on year
down 48.1%
World rank
27th
of 248 countries
All-time high
4.39 million
in 2020
All-time low
1.44 million
in 2026
Years of data
15
2012–2026
Annual area burnt by wildfires in Cameroon, 2012–2026
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2026, annual area burnt by wildfires in Cameroon stood at 1.44 million. That is the lowest value across all 15 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 48.1% 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 in 2020 and was at its lowest, 1.44 million, in 2026.
Cameroon ranks 27th 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.
Annual area burnt by wildfires in Cameroon, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 3.12 million | — |
| 2013 | 3.33 million | +6.7% |
| 2014 | 3.31 million | -0.4% |
| 2015 | 3.29 million | -0.7% |
| 2016 | 3.95 million | +20.1% |
| 2017 | 4.00 million | +1.3% |
| 2018 | 2.15 million | -46.3% |
| 2019 | 3.39 million | +57.4% |
| 2020 | 4.39 million | +29.7% |
| 2021 | 4.27 million | -2.6% |
| 2022 | 3.62 million | -15.3% |
| 2023 | 3.69 million | +2.0% |
| 2024 | 2.45 million | -33.6% |
| 2025 | 2.77 million | +13.0% |
| 2026 | 1.44 million | -48.1% |
Cameroon compared with similar countries
- Cameroon's 1.44 million is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 156,215, 9.2× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Cameroon's 1.44 million is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 535,614, 2.7× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 3.32 million | 2.15 million | 4.00 million | 8 |
| 2020s | 3.23 million | 1.44 million | 4.39 million | 7 |
Countries ranked near Cameroon
- 24 Madagascar 1.62 million compare
- 25 Cambodia 1.53 million compare
- 26 Mali 1.50 million compare
- 28 Papua New Guinea 1.43 million compare
- 29 South Africa 1.43 million compare
- 30 Mexico 1.34 million compare
More reference data data for Cameroon
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.4076 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 3.49 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 4.56 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.199 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 4.56 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.37 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 1.54 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 17.29 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 23.23 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.08 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is annual area burnt by wildfires in Cameroon?
- Annual area burnt by wildfires in Cameroon was 1.44 million in 2026, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest annual area burnt by wildfires recorded in Cameroon?
- The highest recorded value was 4.39 million in 2020.
- What is the lowest annual area burnt by wildfires recorded in Cameroon?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.44 million in 2026.
- How does Cameroon rank for annual area burnt by wildfires?
- Cameroon ranks 27th 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 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).