Wildfire area burned by land cover type in Cameroon
Cameroon: Wildfire area burned by land cover type was 4,830 hectares in 2025. ▲ Rising
Wildfire area burned by land cover type in Cameroon, 2002–2025
Source: Global Wildfire Information System (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
The most recent figure for wildfire area burned by land cover type in Cameroon is 4,830 hectares, measured in 2025.
That represents a change of up 66.7% on the previous year and up 55.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, wildfire area burned by land cover type in Cameroon peaked at 5,538 hectares in 2019 and was at its lowest, 880.1 hectares, in 2018.
That places Cameroon 16th out of 225 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 24 years of available data.
Wildfire area burned by land cover type in Cameroon, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 1,782 hectares | — |
| 2003 | 1,588 hectares | -10.8% |
| 2004 | 2,297 hectares | +44.6% |
| 2005 | 2,340 hectares | +1.9% |
| 2006 | 3,392 hectares | +45.0% |
| 2007 | 2,769 hectares | -18.4% |
| 2008 | 3,413 hectares | +23.3% |
| 2009 | 2,512 hectares | -26.4% |
| 2010 | 1,696 hectares | -32.5% |
| 2011 | 1,030 hectares | -39.2% |
| 2012 | 1,331 hectares | +29.2% |
| 2013 | 3,477 hectares | +161.3% |
| 2014 | 1,438 hectares | -58.6% |
| 2015 | 3,113 hectares | +116.4% |
| 2016 | 3,177 hectares | +2.1% |
| 2017 | 2,211 hectares | -30.4% |
| 2018 | 880.1 hectares | -60.2% |
| 2019 | 5,538 hectares | +529.3% |
| 2020 | 4,229 hectares | -23.6% |
| 2021 | 2,469 hectares | -41.6% |
| 2022 | 1,631 hectares | -33.9% |
| 2023 | 1,889 hectares | +15.8% |
| 2024 | 2,898 hectares | +53.4% |
| 2025 | 4,830 hectares | +66.7% |
Cameroon compared with similar countries
- Cameroon's 4,830 hectares is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 42.93 hectares, 112.5× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Cameroon's 4,830 hectares is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 246.86 hectares, 19.6× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Wildfire area burned by land cover type in Cameroon 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.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | +529.3% | 880.1 hectares | 5,538 hectares |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 2,512 hectares | 1,588 hectares | 3,413 hectares | 8 |
| 2010s | 2,389 hectares | 880.1 hectares | 5,538 hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 2,991 hectares | 1,631 hectares | 4,830 hectares | 6 |
Countries ranked near Cameroon
More reference data data for Cameroon
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.4076 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 3.49 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 4.56 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.199 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 4.56 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.37 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 1.54 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 17.29 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 23.23 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.08 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is wildfire area burned by land cover type in Cameroon?
- Wildfire area burned by land cover type in Cameroon was 4,830 hectares in 2025, according to Global Wildfire Information System (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest wildfire area burned by land cover type recorded in Cameroon?
- The highest recorded value was 5,538 hectares in 2019.
- What is the lowest wildfire area burned by land cover type recorded in Cameroon?
- The lowest recorded value was 880.1 hectares in 2018.
- How does Cameroon rank for wildfire area burned by land cover type?
- Cameroon ranks 16th out of 225 countries with data for 2025.
- Is wildfire area burned by land cover type rising or falling in Cameroon?
- Over the last ten years it is up 55.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Cameroon data come from?
- The figures come from Global Wildfire Information System (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Wildfire area burned by land cover type. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 24 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Area of other land types burnt by wildfires each year, in hectares. Includes wetlands, urban areas, snow and ice, bare ground, and water bodies.