Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Ethiopia
Ethiopia: Area burned by wildfires by land cover type was 1.01 million hectares in 2025. ▼ Falling
Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Ethiopia, 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 Ethiopia is 1.01 million hectares, measured in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 2.5% on the previous year and down 20.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Ethiopia peaked at 1.46 million hectares in 2012 and was at its lowest, 827,423 hectares, in 2022.
Ethiopia ranks 28th of 225 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 24 years of available data.
Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Ethiopia, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 1.10 million hectares | — |
| 2003 | 1.01 million hectares | -8.1% |
| 2004 | 1.12 million hectares | +10.2% |
| 2005 | 1.34 million hectares | +20.0% |
| 2006 | 970,880 hectares | -27.5% |
| 2007 | 1.32 million hectares | +35.8% |
| 2008 | 1.05 million hectares | -20.2% |
| 2009 | 1.15 million hectares | +9.1% |
| 2010 | 1.20 million hectares | +4.8% |
| 2011 | 1.16 million hectares | -3.6% |
| 2012 | 1.46 million hectares | +26.4% |
| 2013 | 1.45 million hectares | -1.2% |
| 2014 | 997,583 hectares | -31.1% |
| 2015 | 1.26 million hectares | +26.3% |
| 2016 | 1.13 million hectares | -10.7% |
| 2017 | 909,917 hectares | -19.1% |
| 2018 | 999,773 hectares | +9.9% |
| 2019 | 927,583 hectares | -7.2% |
| 2020 | 1.07 million hectares | +15.5% |
| 2021 | 1.05 million hectares | -1.8% |
| 2022 | 827,423 hectares | -21.3% |
| 2023 | 1.07 million hectares | +29.2% |
| 2024 | 1.03 million hectares | -3.3% |
| 2025 | 1.01 million hectares | -2.5% |
Ethiopia compared with similar countries
- Ethiopia's 1.01 million hectares is above the median for low income countries, which is 96,961 hectares, 10.4× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Ethiopia's 1.01 million hectares is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 541,498 hectares, 1.9× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 1.13 million hectares | 970,880 hectares | 1.34 million hectares | 8 |
| 2010s | 1.15 million hectares | 909,917 hectares | 1.46 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.01 million hectares | 827,423 hectares | 1.07 million hectares | 6 |
Countries ranked near Ethiopia
More reference data data for Ethiopia
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.6564 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 20.69 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 25.11 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.37 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 25.11 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 2.2 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 1.1 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 100.94 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 121.79 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 7.47 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Ethiopia?
- Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Ethiopia was 1.01 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 Ethiopia?
- The highest recorded value was 1.46 million hectares in 2012.
- What is the lowest area burned by wildfires by land cover type recorded in Ethiopia?
- The lowest recorded value was 827,423 hectares in 2022.
- How does Ethiopia rank for area burned by wildfires by land cover type?
- Ethiopia ranks 28th out of 225 countries with data for 2025.
- Is area burned by wildfires by land cover type rising or falling in Ethiopia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 20.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Ethiopia 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.