Annual area burnt by wildfires in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea: Annual area burnt by wildfires was 1.43 million in 2026. ◆ Volatile
Annual area burnt by wildfires in Papua New Guinea, 2012–2026
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2026, annual area burnt by wildfires in Papua New Guinea stood at 1.43 million.
The figure is up 727.9% on the previous year and up 390.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, annual area burnt by wildfires in Papua New Guinea peaked at 2.16 million in 2015 and was at its lowest, 173,119, in 2025.
Papua New Guinea ranks 28th of 248 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Annual area burnt by wildfires in Papua New Guinea, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 400,087 | — |
| 2013 | 378,294 | -5.4% |
| 2014 | 622,042 | +64.4% |
| 2015 | 2.16 million | +247.7% |
| 2016 | 292,083 | -86.5% |
| 2017 | 403,761 | +38.2% |
| 2018 | 792,659 | +96.3% |
| 2019 | 484,450 | -38.9% |
| 2020 | 259,237 | -46.5% |
| 2021 | 309,580 | +19.4% |
| 2022 | 485,245 | +56.7% |
| 2023 | 650,624 | +34.1% |
| 2024 | 262,371 | -59.7% |
| 2025 | 173,119 | -34.0% |
| 2026 | 1.43 million | +727.9% |
Papua New Guinea compared with similar countries
- Papua New Guinea's 1.43 million is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 156,215, 9.2× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Papua New Guinea's 1.43 million is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 5,676, 252.5× the median. (37 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Annual area burnt by wildfires in Papua New Guinea changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | +727.9% | 173,119 | 1.43 million |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 692,003 | 292,083 | 2.16 million | 8 |
| 2020s | 510,491 | 173,119 | 1.43 million | 7 |
Countries ranked near Papua New Guinea
More reference data data for Papua New Guinea
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.2042 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.0498 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0.3515 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0007 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 0.3515 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.6846 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.5295 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.2811 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 1.89 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0038 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is annual area burnt by wildfires in Papua New Guinea?
- Annual area burnt by wildfires in Papua New Guinea was 1.43 million in 2026, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest annual area burnt by wildfires recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The highest recorded value was 2.16 million in 2015.
- What is the lowest annual area burnt by wildfires recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The lowest recorded value was 173,119 in 2025.
- How does Papua New Guinea rank for annual area burnt by wildfires?
- Papua New Guinea ranks 28th out of 248 countries with data for 2026.
- Is annual area burnt by wildfires rising or falling in Papua New Guinea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 390.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Papua New Guinea 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).