Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Australia
Australia: Area burned by wildfires by land cover type was 46.69 million hectares in 2025. ▼ Falling
Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Australia, 2002–2025
Source: Global Wildfire Information System (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
Australia recorded 46.69 million hectares for area burned by wildfires by land cover type in 2025.
That represents a change of up 46.6% on the previous year and up 29.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Australia peaked at 81.02 million hectares in 2012 and was at its lowest, 11.10 million hectares, in 2020.
Australia ranks 1st of 225 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 24 years of available data.
Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Australia, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 68.50 million hectares | — |
| 2003 | 24.40 million hectares | -64.4% |
| 2004 | 57.91 million hectares | +137.3% |
| 2005 | 21.83 million hectares | -62.3% |
| 2006 | 50.24 million hectares | +130.2% |
| 2007 | 47.35 million hectares | -5.8% |
| 2008 | 27.12 million hectares | -42.7% |
| 2009 | 32.55 million hectares | +20.0% |
| 2010 | 15.84 million hectares | -51.3% |
| 2011 | 80.03 million hectares | +405.2% |
| 2012 | 81.02 million hectares | +1.2% |
| 2013 | 23.11 million hectares | -71.5% |
| 2014 | 39.58 million hectares | +71.3% |
| 2015 | 36.20 million hectares | -8.6% |
| 2016 | 19.67 million hectares | -45.7% |
| 2017 | 44.65 million hectares | +127.0% |
| 2018 | 47.01 million hectares | +5.3% |
| 2019 | 26.32 million hectares | -44.0% |
| 2020 | 11.10 million hectares | -57.8% |
| 2021 | 22.99 million hectares | +107.0% |
| 2022 | 24.90 million hectares | +8.3% |
| 2023 | 67.08 million hectares | +169.4% |
| 2024 | 31.86 million hectares | -52.5% |
| 2025 | 46.69 million hectares | +46.6% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 46.69 million hectares is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 42.93 hectares, 1087580.4× the median. (35 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 41.24 million hectares | 21.83 million hectares | 68.50 million hectares | 8 |
| 2010s | 41.34 million hectares | 15.84 million hectares | 81.02 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 34.10 million hectares | 11.10 million hectares | 67.08 million hectares | 6 |
Countries ranked near Australia
More reference data data for Australia
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.21 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 28.02 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 38.41 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 2.55 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 38.41 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 4.07 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 6.14 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 118.71 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 170.29 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 13.9 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Australia?
- Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Australia was 46.69 million hectares in 2025, according to Global Wildfire Information System (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest area burned by wildfires by land cover type recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 81.02 million hectares in 2012.
- What is the lowest area burned by wildfires by land cover type recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 11.10 million hectares in 2020.
- How does Australia rank for area burned by wildfires by land cover type?
- Australia ranks 1st out of 225 countries with data for 2025.
- Is area burned by wildfires by land cover type rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 29.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from Global Wildfire Information System (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Area burned by wildfires 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 shrubland and grassland burnt by wildfires each year, in hectares. Includes open and closed shrublands and grasslands without a significant tree cover.