Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Central African Republic
Central African Republic: Area burned by wildfires by land cover type was 1.62 million hectares in 2025. ▼ Falling
Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Central African Republic, 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 Central African Republic stood at 1.62 million hectares.
That represents a change of up 11.5% on the previous year and down 42.5% 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 21st 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 Central African Republic, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 3.07 million hectares | — |
| 2003 | 2.99 million hectares | -2.5% |
| 2004 | 3.19 million hectares | +6.5% |
| 2005 | 2.82 million hectares | -11.5% |
| 2006 | 3.00 million hectares | +6.2% |
| 2007 | 2.43 million hectares | -18.9% |
| 2008 | 2.71 million hectares | +11.3% |
| 2009 | 1.66 million hectares | -38.6% |
| 2010 | 2.27 million hectares | +36.6% |
| 2011 | 2.49 million hectares | +9.8% |
| 2012 | 2.09 million hectares | -16.0% |
| 2013 | 2.53 million hectares | +20.9% |
| 2014 | 2.11 million hectares | -16.8% |
| 2015 | 2.82 million hectares | +34.0% |
| 2016 | 2.63 million hectares | -6.9% |
| 2017 | 2.50 million hectares | -4.7% |
| 2018 | 2.23 million hectares | -10.8% |
| 2019 | 1.89 million hectares | -15.4% |
| 2020 | 2.24 million hectares | +18.6% |
| 2021 | 2.44 million hectares | +9.1% |
| 2022 | 1.75 million hectares | -28.3% |
| 2023 | 2.26 million hectares | +28.7% |
| 2024 | 1.46 million hectares | -35.5% |
| 2025 | 1.62 million hectares | +11.5% |
Central African Republic compared with similar countries
- Central African Republic's 1.62 million hectares is above the median for low income countries, which is 96,961 hectares, 16.7× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Central African Republic's 1.62 million hectares is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 541,498 hectares, 3.0× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | 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 | 1.96 million hectares | 1.46 million hectares | 2.44 million hectares | 6 |
Countries ranked near Central African Republic
More reference data data for Central African Republic
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.1959 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 3.03 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 3.26 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0271 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 3.26 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.6569 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.7203 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 15.38 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 16.95 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.1476 (2050)
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 1.62 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 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 21st out of 225 countries with data for 2025.
- Is area burned by wildfires by land cover type rising or falling in Central African Republic?
- Over the last ten years it is down 42.5%. 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.
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.