Annual area burnt by wildfires in Laos
Laos: Annual area burnt by wildfires was 2.64 million in 2026. ▼ Falling
Latest (2026)
2.64 million
Change on year
up 34.2%
World rank
19th
of 248 countries
All-time high
6.62 million
in 2023
All-time low
1.97 million
in 2025
Years of data
15
2012–2026
Annual area burnt by wildfires in Laos, 2012–2026
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
Laos recorded 2.64 million for annual area burnt by wildfires in 2026.
That represents a change of up 34.2% on the previous year and down 34.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, annual area burnt by wildfires in Laos peaked at 6.62 million in 2023 and was at its lowest, 1.97 million, in 2025.
That places Laos 19th 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 Laos, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 3.53 million | — |
| 2013 | 3.64 million | +3.1% |
| 2014 | 3.98 million | +9.3% |
| 2015 | 4.19 million | +5.4% |
| 2016 | 4.01 million | -4.3% |
| 2017 | 2.74 million | -31.7% |
| 2018 | 2.42 million | -11.8% |
| 2019 | 4.43 million | +83.0% |
| 2020 | 4.66 million | +5.3% |
| 2021 | 3.15 million | -32.4% |
| 2022 | 3.13 million | -0.6% |
| 2023 | 6.62 million | +111.2% |
| 2024 | 3.21 million | -51.5% |
| 2025 | 1.97 million | -38.7% |
| 2026 | 2.64 million | +34.2% |
Laos compared with similar countries
- Laos's 2.64 million is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 156,215, 16.9× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Laos's 2.64 million is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 5,676, 465.4× the median. (37 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 3.62 million | 2.42 million | 4.43 million | 8 |
| 2020s | 3.63 million | 1.97 million | 6.62 million | 7 |
Countries ranked near Laos
More reference data data for Laos
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.6615 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.913 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 1.88 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.3021 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 1.88 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 2.22 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 3.96 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 5.07 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 12.95 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.64 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is annual area burnt by wildfires in Laos?
- Annual area burnt by wildfires in Laos was 2.64 million in 2026, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest annual area burnt by wildfires recorded in Laos?
- The highest recorded value was 6.62 million in 2023.
- What is the lowest annual area burnt by wildfires recorded in Laos?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.97 million in 2025.
- How does Laos rank for annual area burnt by wildfires?
- Laos ranks 19th out of 248 countries with data for 2026.
- Is annual area burnt by wildfires rising or falling in Laos?
- Over the last ten years it is down 34.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Laos 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).