Annual area burnt by wildfires in New Zealand
New Zealand: Annual area burnt by wildfires was 18,213 in 2026. ▼ Falling
Annual area burnt by wildfires in New Zealand, 2012–2026
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
New Zealand recorded 18,213 for annual area burnt by wildfires in 2026. That is the lowest value across all 15 years on record.
The figure is down 36.9% on the previous year and down 49.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, annual area burnt by wildfires in New Zealand peaked at 50,593 in 2019 and was at its lowest, 18,213, in 2026.
That places New Zealand 104th 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 New Zealand, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 39,433 | — |
| 2013 | 45,858 | +16.3% |
| 2014 | 48,595 | +6.0% |
| 2015 | 47,822 | -1.6% |
| 2016 | 36,327 | -24.0% |
| 2017 | 32,815 | -9.7% |
| 2018 | 26,427 | -19.5% |
| 2019 | 50,593 | +91.4% |
| 2020 | 37,965 | -25.0% |
| 2021 | 35,746 | -5.8% |
| 2022 | 32,355 | -9.5% |
| 2023 | 21,784 | -32.7% |
| 2024 | 19,487 | -10.5% |
| 2025 | 28,868 | +48.1% |
| 2026 | 18,213 | -36.9% |
New Zealand compared with similar countries
- New Zealand's 18,213 is above the median for high income countries, which is 273, 66.7× the median. (85 countries reporting)
- New Zealand's 18,213 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 5,676, 3.2× the median. (37 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 40,984 | 26,427 | 50,593 | 8 |
| 2020s | 27,774 | 18,213 | 37,965 | 7 |
Countries ranked near New Zealand
More reference data data for New Zealand
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.4532 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 9.92 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 10.93 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0459 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 10.93 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.52 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 1.53 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 42.17 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 47.53 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.2499 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is annual area burnt by wildfires in New Zealand?
- Annual area burnt by wildfires in New Zealand was 18,213 in 2026, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest annual area burnt by wildfires recorded in New Zealand?
- The highest recorded value was 50,593 in 2019.
- What is the lowest annual area burnt by wildfires recorded in New Zealand?
- The lowest recorded value was 18,213 in 2026.
- How does New Zealand rank for annual area burnt by wildfires?
- New Zealand ranks 104th out of 248 countries with data for 2026.
- Is annual area burnt by wildfires rising or falling in New Zealand?
- Over the last ten years it is down 49.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this New Zealand 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).