Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Benin
Benin: Area burned by wildfires by land cover type was 600,250 hectares in 2025. ▼ Falling
Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Benin, 2002–2025
Source: Global Wildfire Information System (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
In 2025, area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Benin stood at 600,250 hectares.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 2.7% on the previous year and down 13.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Benin peaked at 1.20 million hectares in 2005 and was at its lowest, 594,304 hectares, in 2022.
Benin ranks 31st of 225 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 24 years of available data.
Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Benin, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 956,927 hectares | — |
| 2003 | 889,996 hectares | -7.0% |
| 2004 | 832,811 hectares | -6.4% |
| 2005 | 1.20 million hectares | +43.5% |
| 2006 | 906,525 hectares | -24.2% |
| 2007 | 1.10 million hectares | +21.4% |
| 2008 | 769,702 hectares | -30.1% |
| 2009 | 652,240 hectares | -15.3% |
| 2010 | 728,809 hectares | +11.7% |
| 2011 | 751,520 hectares | +3.1% |
| 2012 | 736,859 hectares | -2.0% |
| 2013 | 823,109 hectares | +11.7% |
| 2014 | 863,400 hectares | +4.9% |
| 2015 | 693,326 hectares | -19.7% |
| 2016 | 868,015 hectares | +25.2% |
| 2017 | 776,249 hectares | -10.6% |
| 2018 | 736,880 hectares | -5.1% |
| 2019 | 845,111 hectares | +14.7% |
| 2020 | 750,554 hectares | -11.2% |
| 2021 | 810,100 hectares | +7.9% |
| 2022 | 594,304 hectares | -26.6% |
| 2023 | 645,865 hectares | +8.7% |
| 2024 | 617,036 hectares | -4.5% |
| 2025 | 600,250 hectares | -2.7% |
Benin compared with similar countries
- Benin's 600,250 hectares is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 49,425 hectares, 12.1× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Benin's 600,250 hectares is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 541,498 hectares, 1.1× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 913,033 hectares | 652,240 hectares | 1.20 million hectares | 8 |
| 2010s | 782,328 hectares | 693,326 hectares | 868,015 hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 669,685 hectares | 594,304 hectares | 810,100 hectares | 6 |
Countries ranked near Benin
More reference data data for Benin
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.1979 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.67 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 2.03 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.1562 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 2.03 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.6635 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.5244 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 8.56 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 10.71 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.8505 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Benin?
- Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Benin was 600,250 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 Benin?
- The highest recorded value was 1.20 million hectares in 2005.
- What is the lowest area burned by wildfires by land cover type recorded in Benin?
- The lowest recorded value was 594,304 hectares in 2022.
- How does Benin rank for area burned by wildfires by land cover type?
- Benin ranks 31st out of 225 countries with data for 2025.
- Is area burned by wildfires by land cover type rising or falling in Benin?
- Over the last ten years it is down 13.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Benin 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.