Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea: Area burned by wildfires by land cover type was 26,102 hectares in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
26,102 hectares
Change on year
down 38.2%
World rank
70th
of 225 countries
All-time high
101,641 hectares
in 2015
All-time low
22,797 hectares
in 2016
Years of data
23
2002–2024

Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Papua New Guinea, 2002–2024

20.0k40.0k60.0k80.0k100.0k2002201320242002: 62.4k hectares2003: 45.3k hectares2004: 74.9k hectares2005: 33.8k hectares2006: 55.2k hectares2007: 41.3k hectares2008: 37.0k hectares2009: 32.1k hectares2010: 36.0k hectares2011: 27.9k hectares2012: 26.0k hectares2013: 36.6k hectares2014: 43.1k hectares2015: 101.6k hectares2016: 22.8k hectares2017: 41.0k hectares2018: 43.8k hectares2019: 33.3k hectares2020: 27.4k hectares2021: 28.7k hectares2022: 28.7k hectares2023: 42.3k hectares2024: 26.1k hectares

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 Papua New Guinea is 26,102 hectares, measured in 2024.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 38.2% on the previous year and down 39.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Papua New Guinea peaked at 101,641 hectares in 2015 and was at its lowest, 22,797 hectares, in 2016.

Papua New Guinea ranks 70th of 225 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

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

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 47,737 hectares 32,092 hectares 74,894 hectares 8
2010s 41,208 hectares 22,797 hectares 101,641 hectares 10
2020s 30,645 hectares 26,102 hectares 42,266 hectares 5

Countries ranked near Papua New Guinea

  1. 67 Vietnam 33,637 hectares compare
  2. 68 Guatemala 30,353 hectares compare
  3. 69 Thailand 29,966 hectares compare
  4. 71 Greece 22,646 hectares compare
  5. 72 Chile 19,985 hectares compare
  6. 73 Bulgaria 19,899 hectares compare

See the full ranking of 225 places →

More reference data data for Papua New Guinea

All data for Papua New Guinea →

Frequently asked questions

What is area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Papua New Guinea?
Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Papua New Guinea was 26,102 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 Papua New Guinea?
The highest recorded value was 101,641 hectares in 2015.
What is the lowest area burned by wildfires by land cover type recorded in Papua New Guinea?
The lowest recorded value was 22,797 hectares in 2016.
How does Papua New Guinea rank for area burned by wildfires by land cover type?
Papua New Guinea ranks 70th out of 225 countries with data for 2024.
Is area burned by wildfires by land cover type rising or falling in Papua New Guinea?
Over the last ten years it is down 39.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Papua New Guinea 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 — 23 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

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.