Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Area burned by wildfires by land cover type was 8,028 hectares in 2025. ▲ Rising
Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Costa Rica, 2002–2025
Source: Global Wildfire Information System (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
The most recent figure for area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Costa Rica is 8,028 hectares, measured in 2025.
That represents a change of up 11.6% on the previous year and down 13.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Costa Rica peaked at 9,316 hectares in 2015 and was at its lowest, 1,996 hectares, in 2005.
Costa Rica ranks 94th of 225 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 24 years of available data.
Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 4,186 hectares | — |
| 2003 | 4,980 hectares | +19.0% |
| 2004 | 5,281 hectares | +6.0% |
| 2005 | 1,996 hectares | -62.2% |
| 2006 | 2,018 hectares | +1.1% |
| 2007 | 2,662 hectares | +31.9% |
| 2008 | 5,839 hectares | +119.4% |
| 2009 | 5,087 hectares | -12.9% |
| 2010 | 6,848 hectares | +34.6% |
| 2011 | 2,833 hectares | -58.6% |
| 2012 | 3,349 hectares | +18.2% |
| 2013 | 7,577 hectares | +126.3% |
| 2014 | 5,517 hectares | -27.2% |
| 2015 | 9,316 hectares | +68.9% |
| 2016 | 7,728 hectares | -17.1% |
| 2017 | 6,547 hectares | -15.3% |
| 2018 | 6,955 hectares | +6.2% |
| 2019 | 5,946 hectares | -14.5% |
| 2020 | 6,053 hectares | +1.8% |
| 2021 | 5,087 hectares | -16.0% |
| 2022 | 7,449 hectares | +46.4% |
| 2023 | 8,458 hectares | +13.5% |
| 2024 | 7,191 hectares | -15.0% |
| 2025 | 8,028 hectares | +11.6% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's 8,028 hectares is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 2,758 hectares, 2.9× the median. (38 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 4,006 hectares | 1,996 hectares | 5,839 hectares | 8 |
| 2010s | 6,262 hectares | 2,833 hectares | 9,316 hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 7,044 hectares | 5,087 hectares | 8,458 hectares | 6 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
More reference data data for Costa Rica
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.2987 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.406 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 1.27 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0167 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 1.27 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.3161 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 2.24 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 5.91 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0907 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Costa Rica?
- Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Costa Rica was 8,028 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 Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 9,316 hectares in 2015.
- What is the lowest area burned by wildfires by land cover type recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 1,996 hectares in 2005.
- How does Costa Rica rank for area burned by wildfires by land cover type?
- Costa Rica ranks 94th out of 225 countries with data for 2025.
- Is area burned by wildfires by land cover type rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is down 13.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Costa Rica 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.