Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Area burned by wildfires by land cover type was 7,191 hectares in 2024. ▲ Rising
Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Costa Rica, 2002–2024
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 7,191 hectares, measured in 2024.
That represents a change of down 15.0% on the previous year and up 30.4% 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 87th of 225 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 23 years of available data.
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 | 6,848 hectares | 5,087 hectares | 8,458 hectares | 5 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
- 84 Suriname 12,236 hectares compare
- 85 Philippines 12,107 hectares compare
- 86 Bosnia and Herzegovina 7,985 hectares compare
- 88 Croatia 7,148 hectares compare
- 89 Turkmenistan 7,019 hectares compare
- 90 Eritrea 6,633 hectares compare
More reference data data for Costa Rica
- Spring temperature anomalies 0.2864 °C (2026)
- Summer temperature anomalies 0.8623 °C (2026)
- Temperature anomalies by month 0.1052 °C (2026)
- Universal right to vote in practice 2 (2025)
- Autumn temperature anomalies 0.3865 °C (2025)
- Winter temperature anomalies 0.3144 °C (2025)
- Consumer price index 143 2010 = 100 (2025)
- Universal right to vote 2 (2025)
- Competitive elections 1 (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote 1 (2025)
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 7,191 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 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 87th out of 225 countries with data for 2024.
- Is area burned by wildfires by land cover type rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 30.4%. 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 — 23 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.