Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Nigeria
Nigeria: Area burned by wildfires by land cover type was 2.89 million hectares in 2025. ▼ Falling
Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Nigeria, 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 Nigeria is 2.89 million hectares, measured in 2025.
That represents a change of down 3.6% on the previous year and up 14.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Nigeria peaked at 4.93 million hectares in 2005 and was at its lowest, 2.50 million hectares, in 2018.
Nigeria ranks 12th 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 Nigeria, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 3.55 million hectares | — |
| 2003 | 4.12 million hectares | +15.9% |
| 2004 | 4.78 million hectares | +16.1% |
| 2005 | 4.93 million hectares | +3.3% |
| 2006 | 4.69 million hectares | -5.0% |
| 2007 | 4.61 million hectares | -1.5% |
| 2008 | 3.49 million hectares | -24.4% |
| 2009 | 3.18 million hectares | -8.7% |
| 2010 | 3.57 million hectares | +12.3% |
| 2011 | 2.97 million hectares | -16.8% |
| 2012 | 2.98 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 2013 | 2.62 million hectares | -12.2% |
| 2014 | 2.52 million hectares | -3.6% |
| 2015 | 2.52 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 2016 | 3.47 million hectares | +37.4% |
| 2017 | 2.87 million hectares | -17.2% |
| 2018 | 2.50 million hectares | -12.8% |
| 2019 | 2.55 million hectares | +2.0% |
| 2020 | 2.92 million hectares | +14.2% |
| 2021 | 3.50 million hectares | +20.0% |
| 2022 | 3.25 million hectares | -7.1% |
| 2023 | 3.26 million hectares | +0.2% |
| 2024 | 3.00 million hectares | -8.0% |
| 2025 | 2.89 million hectares | -3.6% |
Nigeria compared with similar countries
- Nigeria's 2.89 million hectares is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 49,425 hectares, 58.5× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Nigeria's 2.89 million hectares is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 541,498 hectares, 5.3× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 4.17 million hectares | 3.18 million hectares | 4.93 million hectares | 8 |
| 2010s | 2.86 million hectares | 2.50 million hectares | 3.57 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.14 million hectares | 2.89 million hectares | 3.50 million hectares | 6 |
Countries ranked near Nigeria
More reference data data for Nigeria
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.77 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 19.51 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 27 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 2.62 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 27 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 5.94 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 5.8 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 81.9 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 121.16 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 14.27 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Nigeria?
- Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Nigeria was 2.89 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 Nigeria?
- The highest recorded value was 4.93 million hectares in 2005.
- What is the lowest area burned by wildfires by land cover type recorded in Nigeria?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.50 million hectares in 2018.
- How does Nigeria rank for area burned by wildfires by land cover type?
- Nigeria ranks 12th out of 225 countries with data for 2025.
- Is area burned by wildfires by land cover type rising or falling in Nigeria?
- Over the last ten years it is up 14.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Nigeria 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.