Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Brazil
Brazil: Area burned by wildfires by land cover type was 3.63 million hectares in 2025. ▼ Falling
Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Brazil, 2002–2025
Source: Global Wildfire Information System (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
Brazil recorded 3.63 million hectares for area burned by wildfires by land cover type in 2025.
The figure is down 48.5% on the previous year and down 34.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Brazil peaked at 10.17 million hectares in 2010 and was at its lowest, 2.93 million hectares, in 2009.
That places Brazil 8th out of 225 countries with data for 2025, putting it 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 Brazil, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 6.34 million hectares | — |
| 2003 | 4.87 million hectares | -23.1% |
| 2004 | 6.31 million hectares | +29.6% |
| 2005 | 5.70 million hectares | -9.7% |
| 2006 | 4.04 million hectares | -29.2% |
| 2007 | 10.15 million hectares | +151.3% |
| 2008 | 4.72 million hectares | -53.5% |
| 2009 | 2.93 million hectares | -37.9% |
| 2010 | 10.17 million hectares | +247.3% |
| 2011 | 4.81 million hectares | -52.7% |
| 2012 | 6.24 million hectares | +29.6% |
| 2013 | 3.43 million hectares | -45.0% |
| 2014 | 4.97 million hectares | +44.9% |
| 2015 | 5.49 million hectares | +10.5% |
| 2016 | 5.05 million hectares | -8.0% |
| 2017 | 5.61 million hectares | +11.0% |
| 2018 | 3.03 million hectares | -46.0% |
| 2019 | 5.63 million hectares | +86.1% |
| 2020 | 6.12 million hectares | +8.7% |
| 2021 | 4.84 million hectares | -21.0% |
| 2022 | 4.73 million hectares | -2.2% |
| 2023 | 3.66 million hectares | -22.6% |
| 2024 | 7.04 million hectares | +92.1% |
| 2025 | 3.63 million hectares | -48.5% |
Brazil compared with similar countries
- Brazil's 3.63 million hectares is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 10,669 hectares, 339.8× the median. (56 countries reporting)
- Brazil's 3.63 million hectares is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 2,758 hectares, 1314.4× the median. (38 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 5.63 million hectares | 2.93 million hectares | 10.15 million hectares | 8 |
| 2010s | 5.44 million hectares | 3.03 million hectares | 10.17 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 5.00 million hectares | 3.63 million hectares | 7.04 million hectares | 6 |
Countries ranked near Brazil
More reference data data for Brazil
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 13.82 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 72.83 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 139.27 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 9.01 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 139.27 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 46.34 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 18.99 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 405.35 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 699.19 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 49.04 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Brazil?
- Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Brazil was 3.63 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 Brazil?
- The highest recorded value was 10.17 million hectares in 2010.
- What is the lowest area burned by wildfires by land cover type recorded in Brazil?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.93 million hectares in 2009.
- How does Brazil rank for area burned by wildfires by land cover type?
- Brazil ranks 8th out of 225 countries with data for 2025.
- Is area burned by wildfires by land cover type rising or falling in Brazil?
- Over the last ten years it is down 34.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Brazil 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.