Annual number of wildfires in Congo

Congo: Annual number of wildfires was 2,564 wildfires in 2026. ▼ Falling

Latest (2026)
2,564 wildfires
Change on year
down 38.0%
World rank
34th
of 248 countries
All-time high
6,618 wildfires
in 2013
All-time low
2,564 wildfires
in 2026
Years of data
15
2012–2026

Annual number of wildfires in Congo, 2012–2026

02.0k4.0k6.0k2012201920262012: 5.6k wildfires2013: 6.6k wildfires2014: 5.2k wildfires2015: 6.1k wildfires2016: 6.1k wildfires2017: 5.0k wildfires2018: 5.9k wildfires2019: 5.3k wildfires2020: 5.8k wildfires2021: 5.0k wildfires2022: 6.2k wildfires2023: 4.8k wildfires2024: 5.7k wildfires2025: 4.1k wildfires2026: 2.6k wildfires

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

Analysis

In 2026, annual number of wildfires in Congo stood at 2,564 wildfires. That is the lowest value across all 15 years on record.

That represents a change of down 38.0% on the previous year and down 58.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, annual number of wildfires in Congo peaked at 6,618 wildfires in 2013 and was at its lowest, 2,564 wildfires, in 2026.

That places Congo 34th 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.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2010s 5,746 wildfires 5,022 wildfires 6,618 wildfires 8
2020s 4,884 wildfires 2,564 wildfires 6,229 wildfires 7

Countries ranked near Congo

  1. 31 Sierra Leone 2,823 wildfires compare
  2. 32 Senegal 2,785 wildfires compare
  3. 33 Canada 2,689 wildfires compare
  4. 35 Colombia 2,524 wildfires compare
  5. 36 Uganda 2,216 wildfires compare
  6. 37 Argentina 1,720 wildfires compare

See the full ranking of 248 places →

More reference data data for Congo

All data for Congo →

Frequently asked questions

What is annual number of wildfires in Congo?
Annual number of wildfires in Congo was 2,564 wildfires in 2026, according to Global Wildfire Information System (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest annual number of wildfires recorded in Congo?
The highest recorded value was 6,618 wildfires in 2013.
What is the lowest annual number of wildfires recorded in Congo?
The lowest recorded value was 2,564 wildfires in 2026.
How does Congo rank for annual number of wildfires?
Congo ranks 34th out of 248 countries with data for 2026.
Is annual number of wildfires rising or falling in Congo?
Over the last ten years it is down 58.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Congo 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 number of 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

Indicator
Annual number of wildfires
Unit
wildfires
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

Number of wildfires. The 2026 data is incomplete and was last updated 07 August 2026.