Annual area burnt by wildfires in Uganda
Uganda: Annual area burnt by wildfires was 639,207 hectares in 2026. ▼ Falling
Annual area burnt by wildfires in Uganda, 2012–2026
Source: Global Wildfire Information System (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
Uganda recorded 639,207 hectares for annual area burnt by wildfires in 2026. That is the lowest value across all 15 years on record.
The figure is down 44.5% on the previous year and down 79.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, annual area burnt by wildfires in Uganda peaked at 3.06 million hectares in 2016 and was at its lowest, 639,207 hectares, in 2026.
That places Uganda 40th 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 Uganda, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 2.26 million hectares | — |
| 2013 | 2.75 million hectares | +21.7% |
| 2014 | 1.87 million hectares | -31.8% |
| 2015 | 2.57 million hectares | +37.0% |
| 2016 | 3.06 million hectares | +19.4% |
| 2017 | 2.44 million hectares | -20.4% |
| 2018 | 1.39 million hectares | -42.9% |
| 2019 | 1.30 million hectares | -6.7% |
| 2020 | 1.99 million hectares | +53.3% |
| 2021 | 2.03 million hectares | +1.8% |
| 2022 | 1.17 million hectares | -42.2% |
| 2023 | 1.36 million hectares | +16.3% |
| 2024 | 943,350 hectares | -30.6% |
| 2025 | 1.15 million hectares | +22.1% |
| 2026 | 639,207 hectares | -44.5% |
Uganda compared with similar countries
- Uganda's 639,207 hectares is above the median for low income countries, which is 198,497 hectares, 3.2× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Uganda's 639,207 hectares is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 506,694 hectares, 1.3× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 2.20 million hectares | 1.30 million hectares | 3.06 million hectares | 8 |
| 2020s | 1.33 million hectares | 639,207 hectares | 2.03 million hectares | 7 |
Countries ranked near Uganda
- 37 Papua New Guinea 739,439 hectares compare
- 38 Sierra Leone 731,535 hectares compare
- 39 Namibia 712,464 hectares compare
- 41 Zimbabwe 627,997 hectares compare
- 42 Kazakhstan 623,531 hectares compare
- 43 Paraguay 603,445 hectares compare
More reference data data for Uganda
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.36 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 5.95 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 7.86 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.4214 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 7.86 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 4.57 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 5.13 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 29.65 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 42.22 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 2.29 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is annual area burnt by wildfires in Uganda?
- Annual area burnt by wildfires in Uganda was 639,207 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 Uganda?
- The highest recorded value was 3.06 million hectares in 2016.
- What is the lowest annual area burnt by wildfires recorded in Uganda?
- The lowest recorded value was 639,207 hectares in 2026.
- How does Uganda rank for annual area burnt by wildfires?
- Uganda ranks 40th out of 248 countries with data for 2026.
- Is annual area burnt by wildfires rising or falling in Uganda?
- Over the last ten years it is down 79.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Uganda 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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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.