Annual area burnt by wildfires in Thailand

Thailand: Annual area burnt by wildfires was 2.67 million hectares in 2026. ▼ Falling

Latest (2026)
2.67 million hectares
Change on year
up 72.7%
World rank
17th
of 248 countries
All-time high
3.93 million hectares
in 2020
All-time low
465,609 hectares
in 2022
Years of data
15
2012–2026

Annual area burnt by wildfires in Thailand, 2012–2026

01.0M2.0M3.0M4.0M2012201920262012: 2.4M hectares2013: 2.6M hectares2014: 2.8M hectares2015: 2.6M hectares2016: 3.7M hectares2017: 1.9M hectares2018: 1.0M hectares2019: 3.9M hectares2020: 3.9M hectares2021: 1.7M hectares2022: 465.6k hectares2023: 2.9M hectares2024: 2.0M hectares2025: 1.5M hectares2026: 2.7M hectares

Source: Global Wildfire Information System (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.

Analysis

Thailand recorded 2.67 million hectares for annual area burnt by wildfires in 2026.

The figure is up 72.7% on the previous year and down 28.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, annual area burnt by wildfires in Thailand peaked at 3.93 million hectares in 2020 and was at its lowest, 465,609 hectares, in 2022.

That places Thailand 17th out of 248 countries with data for 2026, putting it 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 Thailand, year by year

Annual values for Annual area burnt by wildfires in Thailand, 2012 to 2026.
Year hectares Change
2012 2.42 million hectares
2013 2.62 million hectares +8.2%
2014 2.78 million hectares +6.1%
2015 2.55 million hectares -8.3%
2016 3.71 million hectares +45.6%
2017 1.87 million hectares -49.7%
2018 1.02 million hectares -45.3%
2019 3.93 million hectares +284.9%
2020 3.93 million hectares +0.0%
2021 1.65 million hectares -57.9%
2022 465,609 hectares -71.8%
2023 2.88 million hectares +517.9%
2024 1.98 million hectares -31.1%
2025 1.55 million hectares -22.0%
2026 2.67 million hectares +72.7%

Thailand compared with similar countries

  • Thailand's 2.67 million hectares is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 38,000 hectares, 70.3× the median. (58 countries reporting)
  • Thailand's 2.67 million hectares is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 2,872 hectares, 929.9× the median. (37 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Annual area burnt by wildfires in Thailand 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.

YearChange FromTo
2023 +517.9% 465,609 hectares 2.88 million hectares

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2010s 2.61 million hectares 1.02 million hectares 3.93 million hectares 8
2020s 2.16 million hectares 465,609 hectares 3.93 million hectares 7

Countries ranked near Thailand

  1. 14 United States 3.24 million hectares compare
  2. 15 Venezuela 3.06 million hectares compare
  3. 16 Nigeria 2.82 million hectares compare
  4. 18 Laos 2.64 million hectares compare
  5. 19 Canada 2.61 million hectares compare
  6. 20 Tanzania 2.55 million hectares compare

See the full ranking of 248 places →

More reference data data for Thailand

All data for Thailand →

Frequently asked questions

What is annual area burnt by wildfires in Thailand?
Annual area burnt by wildfires in Thailand was 2.67 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 Thailand?
The highest recorded value was 3.93 million hectares in 2020.
What is the lowest annual area burnt by wildfires recorded in Thailand?
The lowest recorded value was 465,609 hectares in 2022.
How does Thailand rank for annual area burnt by wildfires?
Thailand ranks 17th out of 248 countries with data for 2026.
Is annual area burnt by wildfires rising or falling in Thailand?
Over the last ten years it is down 28.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Thailand 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.

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Annual area burnt by wildfires in Thailand. Statizoid, drawing on Global Wildfire Information System (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 23 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/annual-area-burnt-by-wildfires/thailand/

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About this data

Indicator
Annual area burnt by wildfires
Unit
hectares
Source
Global Wildfire Information System (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
248 places, 3,720 data points, 2012–2026
Last refreshed

Area burnt by wildfires in hectares. The 2026 data is incomplete and was last updated 18 September 2026.