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

Latest (2026)
6.02 million hectares
Change on year
down 34.5%
World rank
5th
of 248 countries
All-time high
21.65 million hectares
in 2016
All-time low
6.02 million hectares
in 2026
Years of data
15
2012–2026

Annual area burnt by wildfires in Central African Republic, 2012–2026

5.0M10.0M15.0M20.0M2012201920262012: 11.8M hectares2013: 15.9M hectares2014: 17.6M hectares2015: 19.8M hectares2016: 21.6M hectares2017: 17.3M hectares2018: 14.2M hectares2019: 15.0M hectares2020: 18.4M hectares2021: 16.5M hectares2022: 16.7M hectares2023: 12.6M hectares2024: 11.1M hectares2025: 9.2M hectares2026: 6.0M hectares

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 5th 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 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

  1. 2 Australia 12.30 million hectares compare
  2. 3 Angola 8.94 million hectares compare
  3. 4 South Sudan 6.96 million hectares compare
  4. 6 Russia 4.36 million hectares compare
  5. 7 Myanmar 4.33 million hectares compare
  6. 8 India 4.03 million hectares compare

See the full ranking of 248 places →

More reference data data for Central African Republic

All data for Central African Republic →

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 5th 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.

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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.