Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Malawi
Malawi: Area burned by wildfires by land cover type was 69,721 hectares in 2025. ▼ Falling
Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Malawi, 2002–2025
Source: Global Wildfire Information System (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
Malawi recorded 69,721 hectares for area burned by wildfires by land cover type in 2025.
That represents a change of down 13.6% on the previous year and down 27.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Malawi peaked at 153,245 hectares in 2018 and was at its lowest, 62,251 hectares, in 2023.
Malawi ranks 54th 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 Malawi, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 94,815 hectares | — |
| 2003 | 105,290 hectares | +11.0% |
| 2004 | 84,211 hectares | -20.0% |
| 2005 | 110,506 hectares | +31.2% |
| 2006 | 104,968 hectares | -5.0% |
| 2007 | 100,568 hectares | -4.2% |
| 2008 | 107,501 hectares | +6.9% |
| 2009 | 82,708 hectares | -23.1% |
| 2010 | 117,290 hectares | +41.8% |
| 2011 | 132,359 hectares | +12.8% |
| 2012 | 108,231 hectares | -18.2% |
| 2013 | 93,226 hectares | -13.9% |
| 2014 | 71,610 hectares | -23.2% |
| 2015 | 95,824 hectares | +33.8% |
| 2016 | 100,009 hectares | +4.4% |
| 2017 | 79,424 hectares | -20.6% |
| 2018 | 153,245 hectares | +92.9% |
| 2019 | 93,505 hectares | -39.0% |
| 2020 | 91,530 hectares | -2.1% |
| 2021 | 84,533 hectares | -7.6% |
| 2022 | 95,824 hectares | +13.4% |
| 2023 | 62,251 hectares | -35.0% |
| 2024 | 80,669 hectares | +29.6% |
| 2025 | 69,721 hectares | -13.6% |
Malawi compared with similar countries
- Malawi's 69,721 hectares is below the median for low income countries, which is 96,961 hectares, 72% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Malawi's 69,721 hectares is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 541,498 hectares, 13% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 98,821 hectares | 82,708 hectares | 110,506 hectares | 8 |
| 2010s | 104,472 hectares | 71,610 hectares | 153,245 hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 80,755 hectares | 62,251 hectares | 95,824 hectares | 6 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
More reference data data for Malawi
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.1596 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.09 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 3.71 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.3426 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 3.71 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.5353 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.6012 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 4.92 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 16.7 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.87 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Malawi?
- Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Malawi was 69,721 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 Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 153,245 hectares in 2018.
- What is the lowest area burned by wildfires by land cover type recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 62,251 hectares in 2023.
- How does Malawi rank for area burned by wildfires by land cover type?
- Malawi ranks 54th out of 225 countries with data for 2025.
- Is area burned by wildfires by land cover type rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is down 27.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Malawi 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.