Annual area burnt by wildfires in Tanzania
Tanzania: Annual area burnt by wildfires was 2.55 million hectares in 2026. ▼ Falling
Annual area burnt by wildfires in Tanzania, 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 Tanzania is 2.55 million hectares, measured in 2026. That is the lowest value across all 15 years on record.
That represents a change of down 59.1% on the previous year and down 78.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, annual area burnt by wildfires in Tanzania peaked at 11.84 million hectares in 2016 and was at its lowest, 2.55 million hectares, in 2026.
Tanzania ranks 20th of 248 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 15 years of available data.
Annual area burnt by wildfires in Tanzania, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 11.71 million hectares | — |
| 2013 | 10.91 million hectares | -6.8% |
| 2014 | 9.29 million hectares | -14.9% |
| 2015 | 11.57 million hectares | +24.6% |
| 2016 | 11.84 million hectares | +2.3% |
| 2017 | 9.01 million hectares | -23.9% |
| 2018 | 8.27 million hectares | -8.2% |
| 2019 | 9.15 million hectares | +10.5% |
| 2020 | 10.22 million hectares | +11.7% |
| 2021 | 9.75 million hectares | -4.6% |
| 2022 | 7.57 million hectares | -22.4% |
| 2023 | 6.54 million hectares | -13.6% |
| 2024 | 6.32 million hectares | -3.3% |
| 2025 | 6.23 million hectares | -1.4% |
| 2026 | 2.55 million hectares | -59.1% |
Tanzania compared with similar countries
- Tanzania's 2.55 million hectares is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 156,215 hectares, 16.3× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Tanzania's 2.55 million hectares is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 506,694 hectares, 5.0× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 10.22 million hectares | 8.27 million hectares | 11.84 million hectares | 8 |
| 2020s | 7.02 million hectares | 2.55 million hectares | 10.22 million hectares | 7 |
Countries ranked near Tanzania
More reference data data for Tanzania
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.6405 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 11.44 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 14.14 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.7582 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 14.14 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 2.15 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 1.26 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 59.37 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 72.45 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 4.13 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is annual area burnt by wildfires in Tanzania?
- Annual area burnt by wildfires in Tanzania was 2.55 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 Tanzania?
- The highest recorded value was 11.84 million hectares in 2016.
- What is the lowest annual area burnt by wildfires recorded in Tanzania?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.55 million hectares in 2026.
- How does Tanzania rank for annual area burnt by wildfires?
- Tanzania ranks 20th out of 248 countries with data for 2026.
- Is annual area burnt by wildfires rising or falling in Tanzania?
- Over the last ten years it is down 78.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Tanzania 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.
Download this data
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.