Area burned wildfires by type in Democratic Republic of Congo

Democratic Republic of Congo: Area burned wildfires by type was 1.46 million in 2025. ▼ Falling

Latest (2025)
1.46 million
Change on year
down 19.0%
World rank
22nd
of 225 countries
All-time high
2.34 million
in 2004
All-time low
1.19 million
in 2019
Years of data
24
2002–2025

Area burned wildfires by type in Democratic Republic of Congo, 2002–2025

0500.0k1.0M1.5M2.0M2.5M2002201320252002: 1.5M2003: 1.9M2004: 2.3M2005: 2.2M2006: 2.0M2007: 1.9M2008: 1.9M2009: 1.8M2010: 2.1M2011: 1.5M2012: 1.5M2013: 1.6M2014: 1.3M2015: 1.5M2016: 1.4M2017: 1.2M2018: 1.4M2019: 1.2M2020: 1.3M2021: 1.3M2022: 1.4M2023: 1.3M2024: 1.8M2025: 1.5M

Source: Our World in Data.

Analysis

Democratic Republic of Congo recorded 1.46 million for area burned wildfires by type in 2025.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 19.0% on the previous year and down 0.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, area burned wildfires by type in Democratic Republic of Congo peaked at 2.34 million in 2004 and was at its lowest, 1.19 million, in 2019.

That places Democratic Republic of Congo 22nd 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 wildfires by type in Democratic Republic of Congo, year by year

Annual values for Area burned wildfires by type in Democratic Republic of Congo, 2002 to 2025.
Year Value Change
2002 1.49 million —
2003 1.92 million +28.5%
2004 2.34 million +22.0%
2005 2.19 million -6.3%
2006 2.02 million -7.8%
2007 1.88 million -7.2%
2008 1.91 million +1.7%
2009 1.79 million -6.1%
2010 2.09 million +16.6%
2011 1.49 million -28.8%
2012 1.49 million +0.1%
2013 1.64 million +10.3%
2014 1.35 million -17.9%
2015 1.47 million +9.2%
2016 1.42 million -3.6%
2017 1.20 million -15.4%
2018 1.38 million +14.8%
2019 1.19 million -13.9%
2020 1.28 million +7.8%
2021 1.34 million +5.2%
2022 1.40 million +4.5%
2023 1.29 million -8.3%
2024 1.81 million +40.3%
2025 1.46 million -19.0%

Democratic Republic of Congo compared with similar countries

  • Democratic Republic of Congo's 1.46 million is above the median for low income countries, which is 96,961, 15.1× the median. (25 countries reporting)
  • Democratic Republic of Congo's 1.46 million is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 541,498, 2.7× the median. (48 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 1.94 million 1.49 million 2.34 million 8
2010s 1.47 million 1.19 million 2.09 million 10
2020s 1.43 million 1.28 million 1.81 million 6

Countries ranked near Democratic Republic of Congo

  1. 19 Ghana 1.75 million compare
  2. 20 Venezuela 1.69 million compare
  3. 21 Central African Republic 1.62 million compare
  4. 23 Kazakhstan 1.39 million compare
  5. 24 Russia 1.16 million compare
  6. 25 United States 1.13 million compare

See the full ranking of 225 places →

More reference data data for Democratic Republic of Congo

All data for Democratic Republic of Congo →

Frequently asked questions

What is area burned wildfires by type in Democratic Republic of Congo?
Area burned wildfires by type in Democratic Republic of Congo was 1.46 million in 2025, according to Our World in Data.
What is the highest area burned wildfires by type recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
The highest recorded value was 2.34 million in 2004.
What is the lowest area burned wildfires by type recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
The lowest recorded value was 1.19 million in 2019.
How does Democratic Republic of Congo rank for area burned wildfires by type?
Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 22nd out of 225 countries with data for 2025.
Is area burned wildfires by type rising or falling in Democratic Republic of Congo?
Over the last ten years it is down 0.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Democratic Republic of Congo data come from?
The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Area burned wildfires by type. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Area burned wildfires by type in Democratic Republic of Congo. Statizoid, drawing on Our World in Data. Retrieved 13 November 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/area-burned-wildfires-by-type/congo-dem-rep/

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About this data

Indicator
Area burned wildfires by type
Source
Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
225 places, 5,400 data points, 2002–2025
Last refreshed