Average area burnt per wildfire in Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea: Average area burnt per wildfire was 319.83 hectares in 2026. ▼ Falling

Latest (2026)
319.83 hectares
Change on year
up 14.0%
World rank
59th
of 182 countries
All-time high
373 hectares
in 2015
All-time low
265.05 hectares
in 2021
Years of data
15
2012–2026

Average area burnt per wildfire in Papua New Guinea, 2012–2026

01002003004002012201920262012: 314.5 hectares2013: 297.4 hectares2014: 343.3 hectares2015: 373 hectares2016: 287.2 hectares2017: 301.8 hectares2018: 301.9 hectares2019: 308.2 hectares2020: 277 hectares2021: 265.1 hectares2022: 283.3 hectares2023: 367 hectares2024: 301.6 hectares2025: 280.6 hectares2026: 319.8 hectares

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

Analysis

In 2026, average area burnt per wildfire in Papua New Guinea stood at 319.83 hectares.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 14.0% on the previous year and up 11.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, average area burnt per wildfire in Papua New Guinea peaked at 373 hectares in 2015 and was at its lowest, 265.05 hectares, in 2021.

Papua New Guinea ranks 59th of 182 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 15 years of available data.

Average area burnt per wildfire in Papua New Guinea, year by year

Annual values for Average area burnt per wildfire in Papua New Guinea, 2012 to 2026.
Year hectares Change
2012 314.53 hectares
2013 297.4 hectares -5.4%
2014 343.29 hectares +15.4%
2015 373 hectares +8.7%
2016 287.2 hectares -23.0%
2017 301.76 hectares +5.1%
2018 301.85 hectares +0.0%
2019 308.17 hectares +2.1%
2020 276.96 hectares -10.1%
2021 265.05 hectares -4.3%
2022 283.27 hectares +6.9%
2023 366.96 hectares +29.5%
2024 301.58 hectares -17.8%
2025 280.58 hectares -7.0%
2026 319.83 hectares +14.0%

Papua New Guinea compared with similar countries

  • Papua New Guinea's 319.83 hectares is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 299.57 hectares, 1.1× the median. (45 countries reporting)
  • Papua New Guinea's 319.83 hectares is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 276.78 hectares, 1.2× the median. (26 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2010s 315.9 hectares 287.2 hectares 373 hectares 8
2020s 299.18 hectares 265.05 hectares 366.96 hectares 7

Countries ranked near Papua New Guinea

  1. 56 Saudi Arabia 323.4 hectares compare
  2. 57 Guinea 321.75 hectares compare
  3. 58 Kazakhstan 320.75 hectares compare
  4. 60 Albania 314.86 hectares compare
  5. 61 North Korea 314.16 hectares compare
  6. 62 Argentina 310.66 hectares compare

See the full ranking of 182 places →

More reference data data for Papua New Guinea

All data for Papua New Guinea →

Frequently asked questions

What is average area burnt per wildfire in Papua New Guinea?
Average area burnt per wildfire in Papua New Guinea was 319.83 hectares in 2026, according to Global Wildfire Information System (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest average area burnt per wildfire recorded in Papua New Guinea?
The highest recorded value was 373 hectares in 2015.
What is the lowest average area burnt per wildfire recorded in Papua New Guinea?
The lowest recorded value was 265.05 hectares in 2021.
How does Papua New Guinea rank for average area burnt per wildfire?
Papua New Guinea ranks 59th out of 182 countries with data for 2026.
Is average area burnt per wildfire rising or falling in Papua New Guinea?
Over the last ten years it is up 11.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Papua New Guinea data come from?
The figures come from Global Wildfire Information System (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Average area burnt per wildfire. 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).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Average area burnt per wildfire in Papua New Guinea. 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-per-wildfire/papua-new-guinea/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/annual-area-burnt-per-wildfire/papua-new-guinea/">Average area burnt per wildfire in Papua New Guinea</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Average area burnt per wildfire
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
182 places, 2,594 data points, 2012–2026
Last refreshed

Average area burnt per wildfire, in hectares. The 2026 data is incomplete and was last updated 18 September 2026.