Annual area burnt by wildfires in Madagascar
Madagascar: Annual area burnt by wildfires was 1.33 million hectares in 2026. ▼ Falling
Annual area burnt by wildfires in Madagascar, 2012–2026
Source: Global Wildfire Information System (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
The most recent figure for annual area burnt by wildfires in Madagascar is 1.33 million hectares, measured in 2026. That is the lowest value across all 15 years on record.
That represents a change of down 49.7% on the previous year and down 79.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, annual area burnt by wildfires in Madagascar peaked at 6.36 million hectares in 2016 and was at its lowest, 1.33 million hectares, in 2026.
That places Madagascar 28th out of 248 countries with data for 2026, putting it 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 Madagascar, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 4.97 million hectares | — |
| 2013 | 6.24 million hectares | +25.6% |
| 2014 | 4.88 million hectares | -21.9% |
| 2015 | 5.01 million hectares | +2.8% |
| 2016 | 6.36 million hectares | +26.9% |
| 2017 | 4.73 million hectares | -25.7% |
| 2018 | 5.37 million hectares | +13.6% |
| 2019 | 4.52 million hectares | -15.8% |
| 2020 | 5.52 million hectares | +22.1% |
| 2021 | 4.46 million hectares | -19.2% |
| 2022 | 4.09 million hectares | -8.4% |
| 2023 | 4.09 million hectares | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 3.85 million hectares | -5.9% |
| 2025 | 2.64 million hectares | -31.3% |
| 2026 | 1.33 million hectares | -49.7% |
Madagascar compared with similar countries
- Madagascar's 1.33 million hectares is above the median for low income countries, which is 198,497 hectares, 6.7× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Madagascar's 1.33 million hectares is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 506,694 hectares, 2.6× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 5.26 million hectares | 4.52 million hectares | 6.36 million hectares | 8 |
| 2020s | 3.71 million hectares | 1.33 million hectares | 5.52 million hectares | 7 |
Countries ranked near Madagascar
More reference data data for Madagascar
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.4459 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 4.82 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 5.9 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.4503 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 5.9 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.5 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 1.43 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 26.56 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 32.81 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 2.45 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is annual area burnt by wildfires in Madagascar?
- Annual area burnt by wildfires in Madagascar was 1.33 million 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 Madagascar?
- The highest recorded value was 6.36 million hectares in 2016.
- What is the lowest annual area burnt by wildfires recorded in Madagascar?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.33 million hectares in 2026.
- How does Madagascar rank for annual area burnt by wildfires?
- Madagascar ranks 28th out of 248 countries with data for 2026.
- Is annual area burnt by wildfires rising or falling in Madagascar?
- Over the last ten years it is down 79.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Madagascar 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.
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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.