Annual area burnt by wildfires in Jamaica
Jamaica: Annual area burnt by wildfires was 5,954 hectares in 2026. ▼ Falling
Annual area burnt by wildfires in Jamaica, 2012–2026
Source: Global Wildfire Information System (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
Jamaica recorded 5,954 hectares for annual area burnt by wildfires in 2026.
The figure is up 161.6% on the previous year and up 121.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, annual area burnt by wildfires in Jamaica peaked at 17,799 hectares in 2015 and was at its lowest, 2,276 hectares, in 2025.
That places Jamaica 120th out of 248 countries with data for 2026, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 15 years of available data.
Annual area burnt by wildfires in Jamaica, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 6,308 hectares | — |
| 2013 | 9,248 hectares | +46.6% |
| 2014 | 10,025 hectares | +8.4% |
| 2015 | 17,799 hectares | +77.5% |
| 2016 | 2,684 hectares | -84.9% |
| 2017 | 9,210 hectares | +243.1% |
| 2018 | 8,125 hectares | -11.8% |
| 2019 | 7,659 hectares | -5.7% |
| 2020 | 9,622 hectares | +25.6% |
| 2021 | 4,261 hectares | -55.7% |
| 2022 | 4,346 hectares | +2.0% |
| 2023 | 10,390 hectares | +139.1% |
| 2024 | 6,036 hectares | -41.9% |
| 2025 | 2,276 hectares | -62.3% |
| 2026 | 5,954 hectares | +161.6% |
Jamaica compared with similar countries
- Jamaica's 5,954 hectares is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 38,000 hectares, 16% of the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Jamaica's 5,954 hectares is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 12,198 hectares, 49% of the median. (42 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 8,882 hectares | 2,684 hectares | 17,799 hectares | 8 |
| 2020s | 6,126 hectares | 2,276 hectares | 10,390 hectares | 7 |
Countries ranked near Jamaica
More reference data data for Jamaica
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.045 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.1808 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0.2582 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0003 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 0.2582 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.1508 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.0583 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.8486 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 1.19 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0015 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is annual area burnt by wildfires in Jamaica?
- Annual area burnt by wildfires in Jamaica was 5,954 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 Jamaica?
- The highest recorded value was 17,799 hectares in 2015.
- What is the lowest annual area burnt by wildfires recorded in Jamaica?
- The lowest recorded value was 2,276 hectares in 2025.
- How does Jamaica rank for annual area burnt by wildfires?
- Jamaica ranks 120th out of 248 countries with data for 2026.
- Is annual area burnt by wildfires rising or falling in Jamaica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 121.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Jamaica 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.