Annual area burnt by wildfires in Democratic Republic of Congo
Democratic Republic of Congo: Annual area burnt by wildfires was 22.34 million in 2026. ▼ Falling
Annual area burnt by wildfires in Democratic Republic of Congo, 2012–2026
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2026, annual area burnt by wildfires in Democratic Republic of Congo stood at 22.34 million. That is the lowest value across all 15 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 27.7% on the previous year and down 55.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, annual area burnt by wildfires in Democratic Republic of Congo peaked at 50.64 million in 2016 and was at its lowest, 22.34 million, in 2026.
That places Democratic Republic of Congo 1st out of 248 countries with data for 2026, putting it 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 Democratic Republic of Congo, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 38.53 million | — |
| 2013 | 46.04 million | +19.5% |
| 2014 | 41.62 million | -9.6% |
| 2015 | 47.30 million | +13.6% |
| 2016 | 50.64 million | +7.1% |
| 2017 | 45.47 million | -10.2% |
| 2018 | 42.19 million | -7.2% |
| 2019 | 43.80 million | +3.8% |
| 2020 | 47.18 million | +7.7% |
| 2021 | 41.51 million | -12.0% |
| 2022 | 44.17 million | +6.4% |
| 2023 | 41.07 million | -7.0% |
| 2024 | 37.56 million | -8.5% |
| 2025 | 30.91 million | -17.7% |
| 2026 | 22.34 million | -27.7% |
Democratic Republic of Congo compared with similar countries
- Democratic Republic of Congo's 22.34 million is above the median for low income countries, which is 198,497, 112.5× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Democratic Republic of Congo's 22.34 million is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 535,614, 41.7× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 44.45 million | 38.53 million | 50.64 million | 8 |
| 2020s | 37.82 million | 22.34 million | 47.18 million | 7 |
Countries ranked near Democratic Republic of Congo
More reference data data for Democratic Republic of Congo
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - Manure Management 380.5 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.18 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 9.9 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - IPCC Agriculture 3,062 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - Manure applied 313.43 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - Crop Residues 483.39 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - Burning - Crop 57.74 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - Agricultural 2,624 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Burning - Crop residues 0.2179 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - Manure left on 1,764 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is annual area burnt by wildfires in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- Annual area burnt by wildfires in Democratic Republic of Congo was 22.34 million in 2026, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest annual area burnt by wildfires recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- The highest recorded value was 50.64 million in 2016.
- What is the lowest annual area burnt by wildfires recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- The lowest recorded value was 22.34 million in 2026.
- How does Democratic Republic of Congo rank for annual area burnt by wildfires?
- Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 1st out of 248 countries with data for 2026.
- Is annual area burnt by wildfires rising or falling in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- Over the last ten years it is down 55.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Democratic Republic of Congo 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.
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CSV · JSON — 15 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).