Annual number of wildfires in Ghana

Ghana: Annual number of wildfires was 4,235 wildfires in 2026. ▼ Falling

Latest (2026)
4,235 wildfires
Change on year
down 26.0%
World rank
23rd
of 248 countries
All-time high
15,994 wildfires
in 2020
All-time low
4,235 wildfires
in 2026
Years of data
15
2012–2026

Annual number of wildfires in Ghana, 2012–2026

5.0k7.5k10.0k12.5k15.0k2012201920262012: 9.0k wildfires2013: 14.8k wildfires2014: 13.4k wildfires2015: 14.9k wildfires2016: 12.7k wildfires2017: 15.2k wildfires2018: 8.3k wildfires2019: 12.3k wildfires2020: 16.0k wildfires2021: 11.2k wildfires2022: 12.7k wildfires2023: 9.4k wildfires2024: 9.3k wildfires2025: 5.7k wildfires2026: 4.2k 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 Ghana stood at 4,235 wildfires. That is the lowest value across all 15 years on record.

That represents a change of down 26.0% on the previous year and down 66.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, annual number of wildfires in Ghana peaked at 15,994 wildfires in 2020 and was at its lowest, 4,235 wildfires, in 2026.

Ghana ranks 23rd of 248 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

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

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2010s 12,574 wildfires 8,304 wildfires 15,211 wildfires 8
2020s 9,796 wildfires 4,235 wildfires 15,994 wildfires 7

Countries ranked near Ghana

  1. 20 Mozambique 4,564 wildfires compare
  2. 21 Mali 4,506 wildfires compare
  3. 22 Cameroon 4,348 wildfires compare
  4. 24 Mexico 4,111 wildfires compare
  5. 25 Tanzania 4,052 wildfires compare
  6. 26 Indonesia 3,672 wildfires compare

See the full ranking of 248 places →

More reference data data for Ghana

All data for Ghana →

Frequently asked questions

What is annual number of wildfires in Ghana?
Annual number of wildfires in Ghana was 4,235 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 Ghana?
The highest recorded value was 15,994 wildfires in 2020.
What is the lowest annual number of wildfires recorded in Ghana?
The lowest recorded value was 4,235 wildfires in 2026.
How does Ghana rank for annual number of wildfires?
Ghana ranks 23rd out of 248 countries with data for 2026.
Is annual number of wildfires rising or falling in Ghana?
Over the last ten years it is down 66.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Ghana 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.