Annual area burnt by wildfires in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone: Annual area burnt by wildfires was 731,535 in 2026. ▼ Falling
Annual area burnt by wildfires in Sierra Leone, 2012–2026
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2026, annual area burnt by wildfires in Sierra Leone stood at 731,535. That is the lowest value across all 15 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 35.4% on the previous year and down 65.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, annual area burnt by wildfires in Sierra Leone peaked at 3.33 million in 2015 and was at its lowest, 731,535, in 2026.
Sierra Leone ranks 41st of 248 countries on this measure, 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 Sierra Leone, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 2.69 million | — |
| 2013 | 2.35 million | -12.5% |
| 2014 | 3.13 million | +33.1% |
| 2015 | 3.33 million | +6.3% |
| 2016 | 2.12 million | -36.4% |
| 2017 | 2.07 million | -2.3% |
| 2018 | 1.50 million | -27.3% |
| 2019 | 2.12 million | +40.9% |
| 2020 | 1.97 million | -7.2% |
| 2021 | 1.35 million | -31.5% |
| 2022 | 2.12 million | +57.2% |
| 2023 | 2.01 million | -5.2% |
| 2024 | 1.45 million | -27.6% |
| 2025 | 1.13 million | -22.1% |
| 2026 | 731,535 | -35.4% |
Sierra Leone compared with similar countries
- Sierra Leone's 731,535 is above the median for low income countries, which is 198,497, 3.7× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Sierra Leone's 731,535 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 535,614, 1.4× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 2.42 million | 1.50 million | 3.33 million | 8 |
| 2020s | 1.54 million | 731,535 | 2.12 million | 7 |
Countries ranked near Sierra Leone
More reference data data for Sierra Leone
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.0238 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.4498 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0.5935 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.12 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 0.5935 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.0797 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.044 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.91 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 2.72 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.6534 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is annual area burnt by wildfires in Sierra Leone?
- Annual area burnt by wildfires in Sierra Leone was 731,535 in 2026, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest annual area burnt by wildfires recorded in Sierra Leone?
- The highest recorded value was 3.33 million in 2015.
- What is the lowest annual area burnt by wildfires recorded in Sierra Leone?
- The lowest recorded value was 731,535 in 2026.
- How does Sierra Leone rank for annual area burnt by wildfires?
- Sierra Leone ranks 41st out of 248 countries with data for 2026.
- Is annual area burnt by wildfires rising or falling in Sierra Leone?
- Over the last ten years it is down 65.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sierra Leone 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.
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CSV · JSON — 15 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).