Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Ghana
Ghana: Area burned by wildfires by land cover type was 1.75 million hectares in 2025. ▼ Falling
Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Ghana, 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 Ghana is 1.75 million hectares, measured in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 24 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 47.8% on the previous year and down 47.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Ghana peaked at 4.59 million hectares in 2005 and was at its lowest, 1.75 million hectares, in 2025.
Ghana ranks 19th of 225 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 24 years of available data.
Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Ghana, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 3.11 million hectares | — |
| 2003 | 3.40 million hectares | +9.4% |
| 2004 | 2.68 million hectares | -21.1% |
| 2005 | 4.59 million hectares | +71.1% |
| 2006 | 3.49 million hectares | -24.0% |
| 2007 | 3.28 million hectares | -6.1% |
| 2008 | 3.12 million hectares | -4.9% |
| 2009 | 2.48 million hectares | -20.4% |
| 2010 | 2.81 million hectares | +13.0% |
| 2011 | 4.06 million hectares | +44.7% |
| 2012 | 2.76 million hectares | -31.9% |
| 2013 | 3.61 million hectares | +30.5% |
| 2014 | 3.57 million hectares | -1.0% |
| 2015 | 3.34 million hectares | -6.3% |
| 2016 | 3.43 million hectares | +2.6% |
| 2017 | 3.66 million hectares | +6.6% |
| 2018 | 2.60 million hectares | -29.0% |
| 2019 | 2.97 million hectares | +14.3% |
| 2020 | 3.97 million hectares | +33.8% |
| 2021 | 2.85 million hectares | -28.3% |
| 2022 | 3.86 million hectares | +35.6% |
| 2023 | 2.67 million hectares | -30.9% |
| 2024 | 3.35 million hectares | +25.6% |
| 2025 | 1.75 million hectares | -47.8% |
Ghana compared with similar countries
- Ghana's 1.75 million hectares is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 49,425 hectares, 35.5× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Ghana's 1.75 million hectares is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 541,498 hectares, 3.2× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 3.27 million hectares | 2.48 million hectares | 4.59 million hectares | 8 |
| 2010s | 3.28 million hectares | 2.60 million hectares | 4.06 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.08 million hectares | 1.75 million hectares | 3.97 million hectares | 6 |
Countries ranked near Ghana
- 16 South Africa 2.13 million hectares compare
- 17 Mozambique 2.04 million hectares compare
- 18 Congo 1.93 million hectares compare
- 20 Venezuela 1.69 million hectares compare
- 21 Central African Republic 1.62 million hectares compare
- 22 Democratic Republic of Congo 1.46 million hectares compare
More reference data data for Ghana
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.2805 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.89 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 2.69 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.1989 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 2.69 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.9405 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.9478 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 8.22 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 12.64 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.08 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Ghana?
- Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Ghana was 1.75 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 Ghana?
- The highest recorded value was 4.59 million hectares in 2005.
- What is the lowest area burned by wildfires by land cover type recorded in Ghana?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.75 million hectares in 2025.
- How does Ghana rank for area burned by wildfires by land cover type?
- Ghana ranks 19th out of 225 countries with data for 2025.
- Is area burned by wildfires by land cover type rising or falling in Ghana?
- Over the last ten years it is down 47.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Ghana 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.
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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.