Annual number of wildfires in Zambia

Zambia: Annual number of wildfires was 13,090 wildfires in 2026. ▼ Falling

Latest (2026)
13,090 wildfires
Change on year
down 61.9%
World rank
6th
of 248 countries
All-time high
61,102 wildfires
in 2012
All-time low
13,090 wildfires
in 2026
Years of data
15
2012–2026

Annual number of wildfires in Zambia, 2012–2026

10.0k20.0k30.0k40.0k50.0k60.0k2012201920262012: 61.1k wildfires2013: 60.7k wildfires2014: 55.4k wildfires2015: 60.1k wildfires2016: 59.7k wildfires2017: 53.8k wildfires2018: 57.2k wildfires2019: 55.6k wildfires2020: 48.8k wildfires2021: 48.0k wildfires2022: 52.8k wildfires2023: 50.9k wildfires2024: 38.6k wildfires2025: 34.3k wildfires2026: 13.1k wildfires

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

Analysis

The most recent figure for annual number of wildfires in Zambia is 13,090 wildfires, measured in 2026. That is the lowest value across all 15 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 61.9% on the previous year and down 78.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, annual number of wildfires in Zambia peaked at 61,102 wildfires in 2012 and was at its lowest, 13,090 wildfires, in 2026.

Zambia ranks 6th 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 57,934 wildfires 53,806 wildfires 61,102 wildfires 8
2020s 40,932 wildfires 13,090 wildfires 52,757 wildfires 7

Countries ranked near Zambia

  1. 3 Australia 20,782 wildfires compare
  2. 4 South Sudan 14,468 wildfires compare
  3. 5 India 13,557 wildfires compare
  4. 7 Central African Republic 12,765 wildfires compare
  5. 8 Myanmar 11,674 wildfires compare
  6. 9 Guinea 10,104 wildfires compare

See the full ranking of 248 places →

More reference data data for Zambia

All data for Zambia →

Frequently asked questions

What is annual number of wildfires in Zambia?
Annual number of wildfires in Zambia was 13,090 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 Zambia?
The highest recorded value was 61,102 wildfires in 2012.
What is the lowest annual number of wildfires recorded in Zambia?
The lowest recorded value was 13,090 wildfires in 2026.
How does Zambia rank for annual number of wildfires?
Zambia ranks 6th out of 248 countries with data for 2026.
Is annual number of wildfires rising or falling in Zambia?
Over the last ten years it is down 78.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Zambia 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.