Annual area burnt by wildfires in South Africa
South Africa: Annual area burnt by wildfires was 1.43 million in 2026. ▼ Falling
Annual area burnt by wildfires in South Africa, 2012–2026
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2026, annual area burnt by wildfires in South Africa stood at 1.43 million. That is the lowest value across all 15 years on record.
That represents a change of down 18.7% on the previous year and down 31.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, annual area burnt by wildfires in South Africa peaked at 4.26 million in 2013 and was at its lowest, 1.43 million, in 2026.
That places South Africa 29th 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 South Africa, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 3.93 million | — |
| 2013 | 4.26 million | +8.4% |
| 2014 | 4.07 million | -4.6% |
| 2015 | 2.86 million | -29.6% |
| 2016 | 2.09 million | -26.9% |
| 2017 | 3.41 million | +63.1% |
| 2018 | 2.83 million | -17.0% |
| 2019 | 3.32 million | +17.1% |
| 2020 | 3.11 million | -6.3% |
| 2021 | 4.12 million | +32.6% |
| 2022 | 3.40 million | -17.5% |
| 2023 | 3.89 million | +14.4% |
| 2024 | 3.07 million | -21.0% |
| 2025 | 1.76 million | -42.6% |
| 2026 | 1.43 million | -18.7% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 1.43 million is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 39,413, 36.4× the median. (58 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 1.43 million is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 535,614, 2.7× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 3.35 million | 2.09 million | 4.26 million | 8 |
| 2020s | 2.97 million | 1.43 million | 4.12 million | 7 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More reference data data for South Africa
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.5111 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 8.71 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 13.63 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.7468 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 13.63 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.71 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 1.49 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 41.1 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 63.65 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 4.07 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is annual area burnt by wildfires in South Africa?
- Annual area burnt by wildfires in South Africa was 1.43 million in 2026, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest annual area burnt by wildfires recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 4.26 million in 2013.
- What is the lowest annual area burnt by wildfires recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.43 million in 2026.
- How does South Africa rank for annual area burnt by wildfires?
- South Africa ranks 29th out of 248 countries with data for 2026.
- Is annual area burnt by wildfires rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 31.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Africa 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).