Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Central African Republic

Central African Republic: Area burned by wildfires by land cover type was 1.46 million hectares in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
1.46 million hectares
Change on year
down 35.5%
World rank
23rd
of 225 countries
All-time high
3.19 million hectares
in 2004
All-time low
1.46 million hectares
in 2024
Years of data
23
2002–2024

Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Central African Republic, 2002–2024

01.0M2.0M3.0M2002201320242002: 3.1M hectares2003: 3.0M hectares2004: 3.2M hectares2005: 2.8M hectares2006: 3.0M hectares2007: 2.4M hectares2008: 2.7M hectares2009: 1.7M hectares2010: 2.3M hectares2011: 2.5M hectares2012: 2.1M hectares2013: 2.5M hectares2014: 2.1M hectares2015: 2.8M hectares2016: 2.6M hectares2017: 2.5M hectares2018: 2.2M hectares2019: 1.9M hectares2020: 2.2M hectares2021: 2.4M hectares2022: 1.8M hectares2023: 2.3M hectares2024: 1.5M hectares

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

Analysis

In 2024, area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Central African Republic stood at 1.46 million hectares. That is the lowest value across all 23 years on record.

That represents a change of down 35.5% on the previous year and down 30.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Central African Republic peaked at 3.19 million hectares in 2004 and was at its lowest, 1.46 million hectares, in 2024.

That places Central African Republic 23rd out of 225 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 23 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 2.73 million hectares 1.66 million hectares 3.19 million hectares 8
2010s 2.36 million hectares 1.89 million hectares 2.82 million hectares 10
2020s 2.03 million hectares 1.46 million hectares 2.44 million hectares 5

Countries ranked near Central African Republic

  1. 20 Botswana 2.16 million hectares compare
  2. 21 Russia 1.99 million hectares compare
  3. 22 Democratic Republic of Congo 1.81 million hectares compare
  4. 24 Bolivia 1.17 million hectares compare
  5. 25 Namibia 1.05 million hectares compare
  6. 26 Ethiopia 1.03 million hectares compare

See the full ranking of 225 places →

More reference data data for Central African Republic

All data for Central African Republic →

Frequently asked questions

What is area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Central African Republic?
Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Central African Republic was 1.46 million hectares in 2024, 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 Central African Republic?
The highest recorded value was 3.19 million hectares in 2004.
What is the lowest area burned by wildfires by land cover type recorded in Central African Republic?
The lowest recorded value was 1.46 million hectares in 2024.
How does Central African Republic rank for area burned by wildfires by land cover type?
Central African Republic ranks 23rd out of 225 countries with data for 2024.
Is area burned by wildfires by land cover type rising or falling in Central African Republic?
Over the last ten years it is down 30.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Central African Republic 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.

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About this data

Indicator
Area burned by wildfires by land cover type
Unit
hectares
Source
Global Wildfire Information System (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
225 places, 5,175 data points, 2002–2024
Last refreshed

Area of shrubland and grassland burnt by wildfires each year, in hectares. Includes open and closed shrublands and grasslands without a significant tree cover.