Annual area burnt by wildfires in Cameroon
Cameroon: Annual area burnt by wildfires was 1.44 million hectares in 2026. ▼ Falling
Annual area burnt by wildfires in Cameroon, 2012–2026
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 48.1% 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 hectares in 2020 and was at its lowest, 1.44 million hectares, in 2026.
Cameroon ranks 26th 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 | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 3.12 million hectares | — |
| 2013 | 3.33 million hectares | +6.7% |
| 2014 | 3.31 million hectares | -0.4% |
| 2015 | 3.29 million hectares | -0.7% |
| 2016 | 3.95 million hectares | +20.1% |
| 2017 | 4.00 million hectares | +1.3% |
| 2018 | 2.15 million hectares | -46.3% |
| 2019 | 3.39 million hectares | +57.4% |
| 2020 | 4.39 million hectares | +29.7% |
| 2021 | 4.27 million hectares | -2.6% |
| 2022 | 3.62 million hectares | -15.3% |
| 2023 | 3.69 million hectares | +2.0% |
| 2024 | 2.45 million hectares | -33.6% |
| 2025 | 2.77 million hectares | +13.0% |
| 2026 | 1.44 million hectares | -48.1% |
Cameroon compared with similar countries
- Cameroon's 1.44 million hectares is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 156,215 hectares, 9.2× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Cameroon's 1.44 million hectares is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 506,694 hectares, 2.8× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | 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
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 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 26th 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.
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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.