Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Gabon
Gabon: Area burned by wildfires by land cover type was 353,328 hectares in 2025. ▲ Rising
Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Gabon, 2002–2025
Source: Global Wildfire Information System (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
In 2025, area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Gabon stood at 353,328 hectares.
The figure is down 8.1% on the previous year and up 21.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Gabon peaked at 408,968 hectares in 2022 and was at its lowest, 192,699 hectares, in 2002.
Gabon ranks 36th of 225 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 24 years of available data.
Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Gabon, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 192,699 hectares | — |
| 2003 | 255,980 hectares | +32.8% |
| 2004 | 353,028 hectares | +37.9% |
| 2005 | 238,421 hectares | -32.5% |
| 2006 | 318,940 hectares | +33.8% |
| 2007 | 335,447 hectares | +5.2% |
| 2008 | 310,461 hectares | -7.4% |
| 2009 | 290,519 hectares | -6.4% |
| 2010 | 326,582 hectares | +12.4% |
| 2011 | 362,108 hectares | +10.9% |
| 2012 | 364,405 hectares | +0.6% |
| 2013 | 355,153 hectares | -2.5% |
| 2014 | 294,576 hectares | -17.1% |
| 2015 | 292,043 hectares | -0.9% |
| 2016 | 331,175 hectares | +13.4% |
| 2017 | 395,380 hectares | +19.4% |
| 2018 | 272,831 hectares | -31.0% |
| 2019 | 326,152 hectares | +19.5% |
| 2020 | 322,138 hectares | -1.2% |
| 2021 | 246,385 hectares | -23.5% |
| 2022 | 408,968 hectares | +66.0% |
| 2023 | 281,568 hectares | -31.2% |
| 2024 | 384,411 hectares | +36.5% |
| 2025 | 353,328 hectares | -8.1% |
Gabon compared with similar countries
- Gabon's 353,328 hectares is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 10,669 hectares, 33.1× the median. (56 countries reporting)
- Gabon's 353,328 hectares is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 541,498 hectares, 65% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 286,937 hectares | 192,699 hectares | 353,028 hectares | 8 |
| 2010s | 332,040 hectares | 272,831 hectares | 395,380 hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 332,800 hectares | 246,385 hectares | 408,968 hectares | 6 |
Countries ranked near Gabon
More reference data data for Gabon
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.0319 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.0505 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0.0931 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0031 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 0.0931 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.107 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.1347 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.2352 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0.5278 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0167 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Gabon?
- Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Gabon was 353,328 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 Gabon?
- The highest recorded value was 408,968 hectares in 2022.
- What is the lowest area burned by wildfires by land cover type recorded in Gabon?
- The lowest recorded value was 192,699 hectares in 2002.
- How does Gabon rank for area burned by wildfires by land cover type?
- Gabon ranks 36th out of 225 countries with data for 2025.
- Is area burned by wildfires by land cover type rising or falling in Gabon?
- Over the last ten years it is up 21.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Gabon 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.