Annual area burnt by wildfires in Congo
Congo: Annual area burnt by wildfires was 1.05 million in 2026. ▼ Falling
Annual area burnt by wildfires in Congo, 2012–2026
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2026, annual area burnt by wildfires in Congo stood at 1.05 million. That is the lowest value across all 15 years on record.
That represents a change of down 16.6% on the previous year and down 45.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, annual area burnt by wildfires in Congo peaked at 2.02 million in 2013 and was at its lowest, 1.05 million, in 2026.
Congo ranks 35th 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 Congo, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 1.74 million | — |
| 2013 | 2.02 million | +15.8% |
| 2014 | 1.56 million | -22.8% |
| 2015 | 1.83 million | +17.3% |
| 2016 | 1.92 million | +5.0% |
| 2017 | 1.51 million | -21.2% |
| 2018 | 1.72 million | +13.6% |
| 2019 | 1.57 million | -8.6% |
| 2020 | 1.74 million | +10.7% |
| 2021 | 1.39 million | -20.0% |
| 2022 | 1.82 million | +30.4% |
| 2023 | 1.39 million | -23.2% |
| 2024 | 1.87 million | +33.9% |
| 2025 | 1.26 million | -32.5% |
| 2026 | 1.05 million | -16.6% |
Congo compared with similar countries
- Congo's 1.05 million is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 156,215, 6.7× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Congo's 1.05 million is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 535,614, 2.0× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 1.73 million | 1.51 million | 2.02 million | 8 |
| 2020s | 1.50 million | 1.05 million | 1.87 million | 7 |
Countries ranked near Congo
More reference data data for Congo
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.0199 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.1866 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0.2108 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0031 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 0.2108 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.0668 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.0724 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.9126 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 1.08 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.017 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is annual area burnt by wildfires in Congo?
- Annual area burnt by wildfires in Congo was 1.05 million in 2026, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest annual area burnt by wildfires recorded in Congo?
- The highest recorded value was 2.02 million in 2013.
- What is the lowest annual area burnt by wildfires recorded in Congo?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.05 million in 2026.
- How does Congo rank for annual area burnt by wildfires?
- Congo ranks 35th out of 248 countries with data for 2026.
- Is annual area burnt by wildfires rising or falling in Congo?
- Over the last ten years it is down 45.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this 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).