Annual area burnt by wildfires in Central African Republic
Central African Republic: Annual area burnt by wildfires was 6.02 million hectares in 2026. ▼ Falling
Annual area burnt by wildfires in Central African Republic, 2012–2026
Source: Global Wildfire Information System (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
Central African Republic recorded 6.02 million hectares for annual area burnt by wildfires in 2026. That is the lowest value across all 15 years on record.
The figure is down 34.5% on the previous year and down 72.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, annual area burnt by wildfires in Central African Republic peaked at 21.65 million hectares in 2016 and was at its lowest, 6.02 million hectares, in 2026.
Central African Republic ranks 8th 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.
Annual area burnt by wildfires in Central African Republic, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 11.78 million hectares | — |
| 2013 | 15.94 million hectares | +35.3% |
| 2014 | 17.59 million hectares | +10.4% |
| 2015 | 19.77 million hectares | +12.4% |
| 2016 | 21.65 million hectares | +9.5% |
| 2017 | 17.28 million hectares | -20.2% |
| 2018 | 14.18 million hectares | -18.0% |
| 2019 | 15.00 million hectares | +5.8% |
| 2020 | 18.43 million hectares | +22.9% |
| 2021 | 16.54 million hectares | -10.3% |
| 2022 | 16.67 million hectares | +0.8% |
| 2023 | 12.59 million hectares | -24.5% |
| 2024 | 11.13 million hectares | -11.6% |
| 2025 | 9.19 million hectares | -17.4% |
| 2026 | 6.02 million hectares | -34.5% |
Central African Republic compared with similar countries
- Central African Republic's 6.02 million hectares is above the median for low income countries, which is 198,497 hectares, 30.3× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Central African Republic's 6.02 million hectares is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 506,694 hectares, 11.9× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 16.65 million hectares | 11.78 million hectares | 21.65 million hectares | 8 |
| 2020s | 12.94 million hectares | 6.02 million hectares | 18.43 million hectares | 7 |
Countries ranked near Central African Republic
More reference data data for Central African Republic
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.1959 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 3.03 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 3.26 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0271 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 3.26 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.6569 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.7203 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 15.38 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 16.95 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.1476 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is annual area burnt by wildfires in Central African Republic?
- Annual area burnt by wildfires in Central African Republic was 6.02 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 Central African Republic?
- The highest recorded value was 21.65 million hectares in 2016.
- What is the lowest annual area burnt by wildfires recorded in Central African Republic?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.02 million hectares in 2026.
- How does Central African Republic rank for annual area burnt by wildfires?
- Central African Republic ranks 8th out of 248 countries with data for 2026.
- Is annual area burnt by wildfires rising or falling in Central African Republic?
- Over the last ten years it is down 72.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Central African Republic 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
Area burnt by wildfires in hectares. The 2026 data is incomplete and was last updated 18 September 2026.