Annual area burnt by wildfires in Ghana
Ghana: Annual area burnt by wildfires was 1.76 million in 2026. ▼ Falling
Annual area burnt by wildfires in Ghana, 2012–2026
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for annual area burnt by wildfires in Ghana is 1.76 million, measured in 2026. That is the lowest value across all 15 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 17.2% on the previous year and down 63.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, annual area burnt by wildfires in Ghana peaked at 6.00 million in 2020 and was at its lowest, 1.76 million, in 2026.
Ghana ranks 23rd 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 Ghana, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 3.28 million | — |
| 2013 | 5.32 million | +62.3% |
| 2014 | 4.94 million | -7.3% |
| 2015 | 5.52 million | +11.9% |
| 2016 | 4.80 million | -13.1% |
| 2017 | 5.69 million | +18.6% |
| 2018 | 3.15 million | -44.7% |
| 2019 | 4.66 million | +48.0% |
| 2020 | 6.00 million | +28.9% |
| 2021 | 4.05 million | -32.6% |
| 2022 | 4.94 million | +22.0% |
| 2023 | 3.52 million | -28.7% |
| 2024 | 3.94 million | +12.0% |
| 2025 | 2.13 million | -45.9% |
| 2026 | 1.76 million | -17.2% |
Ghana compared with similar countries
- Ghana's 1.76 million is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 156,215, 11.3× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Ghana's 1.76 million is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 535,614, 3.3× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 4.67 million | 3.15 million | 5.69 million | 8 |
| 2020s | 3.76 million | 1.76 million | 6.00 million | 7 |
Countries ranked near Ghana
More reference data data for Ghana
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.2805 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.89 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 2.69 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.1989 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 2.69 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.9405 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.9478 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 8.22 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 12.64 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.08 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is annual area burnt by wildfires in Ghana?
- Annual area burnt by wildfires in Ghana was 1.76 million in 2026, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest annual area burnt by wildfires recorded in Ghana?
- The highest recorded value was 6.00 million in 2020.
- What is the lowest annual area burnt by wildfires recorded in Ghana?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.76 million in 2026.
- How does Ghana rank for annual area burnt by wildfires?
- Ghana ranks 23rd out of 248 countries with data for 2026.
- Is annual area burnt by wildfires rising or falling in Ghana?
- Over the last ten years it is down 63.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Ghana 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.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 15 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).