Annual number of wildfires in South Korea

South Korea: Annual number of wildfires was 12 wildfires in 2026. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2026)
12 wildfires
Change on year
down 76.9%
World rank
122nd
of 248 countries
All-time high
52 wildfires
in 2025
All-time low
1 wildfires
in 2024
Years of data
15
2012–2026

Annual number of wildfires in South Korea, 2012–2026

02040602012201920262012: 4 wildfires2013: 16 wildfires2014: 19 wildfires2015: 24 wildfires2016: 13 wildfires2017: 21 wildfires2018: 9 wildfires2019: 23 wildfires2020: 27 wildfires2021: 8 wildfires2022: 34 wildfires2023: 16 wildfires2024: 1 wildfires2025: 52 wildfires2026: 12 wildfires

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

Analysis

South Korea recorded 12 wildfires for annual number of wildfires in 2026.

That represents a change of down 76.9% on the previous year and down 7.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, annual number of wildfires in South Korea peaked at 52 wildfires in 2025 and was at its lowest, 1 wildfires, in 2024.

South Korea ranks 122nd of 248 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2010s 16.12 wildfires 4 wildfires 24 wildfires 8
2020s 21.43 wildfires 1 wildfires 52 wildfires 7

Countries ranked near South Korea

  1. 119 Albania 15 wildfires compare
  2. 120 Saudi Arabia 14 wildfires compare
  3. 121 Croatia 13 wildfires compare
  4. 122 Fiji 12 wildfires compare
  5. 122 North Macedonia 12 wildfires compare
  6. 122 Trinidad and Tobago 12 wildfires compare

See the full ranking of 248 places →

More reference data data for South Korea

All data for South Korea →

Frequently asked questions

What is annual number of wildfires in South Korea?
Annual number of wildfires in South Korea was 12 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 South Korea?
The highest recorded value was 52 wildfires in 2025.
What is the lowest annual number of wildfires recorded in South Korea?
The lowest recorded value was 1 wildfires in 2024.
How does South Korea rank for annual number of wildfires?
South Korea ranks 122nd out of 248 countries with data for 2026.
Is annual number of wildfires rising or falling in South Korea?
Over the last ten years it is down 7.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this South Korea 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.