Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Mozambique

Mozambique: Area burned by wildfires by land cover type was 2.81 million hectares in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
2.81 million hectares
Change on year
up 2.6%
World rank
15th
of 225 countries
All-time high
3.10 million hectares
in 2008
All-time low
1.33 million hectares
in 2016
Years of data
23
2002–2024

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

01.0M2.0M3.0M2002201320242002: 2.8M hectares2003: 2.2M hectares2004: 2.8M hectares2005: 2.8M hectares2006: 2.7M hectares2007: 2.8M hectares2008: 3.1M hectares2009: 2.7M hectares2010: 2.8M hectares2011: 2.7M hectares2012: 2.0M hectares2013: 2.3M hectares2014: 3.1M hectares2015: 3.0M hectares2016: 1.3M hectares2017: 1.9M hectares2018: 2.1M hectares2019: 2.0M hectares2020: 1.7M hectares2021: 2.7M hectares2022: 2.9M hectares2023: 2.7M hectares2024: 2.8M hectares

Source: Global Wildfire Information System (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.

Analysis

Mozambique recorded 2.81 million hectares for area burned by wildfires by land cover type in 2024.

The figure is up 2.6% on the previous year and down 8.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Mozambique peaked at 3.10 million hectares in 2008 and was at its lowest, 1.33 million hectares, in 2016.

Mozambique ranks 15th of 225 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

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

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 2.74 million hectares 2.19 million hectares 3.10 million hectares 8
2010s 2.33 million hectares 1.33 million hectares 3.07 million hectares 10
2020s 2.56 million hectares 1.71 million hectares 2.85 million hectares 5

Countries ranked near Mozambique

  1. 12 Madagascar 3.37 million hectares compare
  2. 13 Ghana 3.35 million hectares compare
  3. 14 Nigeria 3.00 million hectares compare
  4. 16 Tanzania 2.80 million hectares compare
  5. 17 Venezuela 2.66 million hectares compare
  6. 18 Congo 2.33 million hectares compare

See the full ranking of 225 places →

More reference data data for Mozambique

All data for Mozambique →

Frequently asked questions

What is area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Mozambique?
Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Mozambique was 2.81 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 Mozambique?
The highest recorded value was 3.10 million hectares in 2008.
What is the lowest area burned by wildfires by land cover type recorded in Mozambique?
The lowest recorded value was 1.33 million hectares in 2016.
How does Mozambique rank for area burned by wildfires by land cover type?
Mozambique ranks 15th out of 225 countries with data for 2024.
Is area burned by wildfires by land cover type rising or falling in Mozambique?
Over the last ten years it is down 8.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Mozambique 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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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.