Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Mozambique
Mozambique: Area burned by wildfires by land cover type was 2.04 million hectares in 2025. ▼ Falling
Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Mozambique, 2002–2025
Source: Global Wildfire Information System (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
Mozambique recorded 2.04 million hectares for area burned by wildfires by land cover type in 2025.
The figure is down 27.4% on the previous year and down 31.9% 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 17th 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 Mozambique, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 2.82 million hectares | — |
| 2003 | 2.19 million hectares | -22.2% |
| 2004 | 2.84 million hectares | +29.4% |
| 2005 | 2.81 million hectares | -1.0% |
| 2006 | 2.67 million hectares | -5.0% |
| 2007 | 2.80 million hectares | +5.0% |
| 2008 | 3.10 million hectares | +10.5% |
| 2009 | 2.71 million hectares | -12.4% |
| 2010 | 2.78 million hectares | +2.4% |
| 2011 | 2.74 million hectares | -1.3% |
| 2012 | 2.04 million hectares | -25.5% |
| 2013 | 2.30 million hectares | +12.6% |
| 2014 | 3.07 million hectares | +33.4% |
| 2015 | 3.00 million hectares | -2.5% |
| 2016 | 1.33 million hectares | -55.7% |
| 2017 | 1.90 million hectares | +42.9% |
| 2018 | 2.13 million hectares | +12.1% |
| 2019 | 1.99 million hectares | -6.7% |
| 2020 | 1.71 million hectares | -14.1% |
| 2021 | 2.68 million hectares | +57.1% |
| 2022 | 2.85 million hectares | +6.3% |
| 2023 | 2.74 million hectares | -3.9% |
| 2024 | 2.81 million hectares | +2.6% |
| 2025 | 2.04 million hectares | -27.4% |
Mozambique compared with similar countries
- Mozambique's 2.04 million hectares is above the median for low income countries, which is 96,961 hectares, 21.0× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Mozambique's 2.04 million hectares is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 541,498 hectares, 3.8× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | 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 | 2.47 million hectares | 1.71 million hectares | 2.85 million hectares | 6 |
Countries ranked near Mozambique
More reference data data for Mozambique
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 2.06 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.78 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 4.53 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.2808 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 4.53 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 6.9 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 9.3 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 8.28 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 27.89 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.53 (2050)
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 2.04 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 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 17th out of 225 countries with data for 2025.
- Is area burned by wildfires by land cover type rising or falling in Mozambique?
- Over the last ten years it is down 31.9%. 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.
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.