Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Ethiopia

Ethiopia: Area burned by wildfires by land cover type was 1.03 million hectares in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
1.03 million hectares
Change on year
down 3.3%
World rank
26th
of 225 countries
All-time high
1.46 million hectares
in 2012
All-time low
827,423 hectares
in 2022
Years of data
23
2002–2024

Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Ethiopia, 2002–2024

0500.0k1.0M1.5M2002201320242002: 1.1M hectares2003: 1.0M hectares2004: 1.1M hectares2005: 1.3M hectares2006: 970.9k hectares2007: 1.3M hectares2008: 1.1M hectares2009: 1.1M hectares2010: 1.2M hectares2011: 1.2M hectares2012: 1.5M hectares2013: 1.4M hectares2014: 997.6k hectares2015: 1.3M hectares2016: 1.1M hectares2017: 909.9k hectares2018: 999.8k hectares2019: 927.6k hectares2020: 1.1M hectares2021: 1.1M hectares2022: 827.4k hectares2023: 1.1M hectares2024: 1.0M hectares

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 1.03 million hectares, measured in 2024.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 3.3% on the previous year and up 3.7% 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 26th of 225 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 23 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest 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 5

Countries ranked near Ethiopia

  1. 23 Central African Republic 1.46 million hectares compare
  2. 24 Bolivia 1.17 million hectares compare
  3. 25 Namibia 1.05 million hectares compare
  4. 27 Argentina 966,372 hectares compare
  5. 28 Zimbabwe 872,330 hectares compare
  6. 29 Niger 772,879 hectares compare

See the full ranking of 225 places →

More reference data data for Ethiopia

All data for Ethiopia →

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 1.03 million 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 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 26th out of 225 countries with data for 2024.
Is area burned by wildfires by land cover type rising or falling in Ethiopia?
Over the last ten years it is up 3.7%. 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

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About this data

Indicator
Area burned by wildfires by land cover type
Unit
hectares
Source
Global Wildfire Information System (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
225 places, 5,175 data points, 2002–2024
Last refreshed

Area of shrubland and grassland burnt by wildfires each year, in hectares. Includes open and closed shrublands and grasslands without a significant tree cover.