Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Senegal

Senegal: Area burned by wildfires by land cover type was 3.26 million hectares in 2025. ▼ Falling

Latest (2025)
3.26 million hectares
Change on year
down 3.5%
World rank
10th
of 225 countries
All-time high
4.86 million hectares
in 2006
All-time low
2.25 million hectares
in 2003
Years of data
24
2002–2025

Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Senegal, 2002–2025

01.0M2.0M3.0M4.0M5.0M2002201320252002: 3.7M hectares2003: 2.2M hectares2004: 3.9M hectares2005: 4.2M hectares2006: 4.9M hectares2007: 3.3M hectares2008: 3.8M hectares2009: 3.3M hectares2010: 3.9M hectares2011: 4.8M hectares2012: 2.9M hectares2013: 3.7M hectares2014: 3.3M hectares2015: 2.3M hectares2016: 3.8M hectares2017: 3.6M hectares2018: 2.7M hectares2019: 3.4M hectares2020: 3.8M hectares2021: 3.8M hectares2022: 3.5M hectares2023: 4.2M hectares2024: 3.4M hectares2025: 3.3M hectares

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

Analysis

In 2025, area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Senegal stood at 3.26 million hectares.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 3.5% on the previous year and up 42.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Senegal peaked at 4.86 million hectares in 2006 and was at its lowest, 2.25 million hectares, in 2003.

Senegal ranks 10th 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 Senegal, year by year

Annual values for Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Senegal, 2002 to 2025.
Year hectares Change
2002 3.69 million hectares
2003 2.25 million hectares -39.2%
2004 3.89 million hectares +73.4%
2005 4.17 million hectares +7.0%
2006 4.86 million hectares +16.5%
2007 3.29 million hectares -32.3%
2008 3.83 million hectares +16.5%
2009 3.31 million hectares -13.6%
2010 3.94 million hectares +18.9%
2011 4.77 million hectares +21.2%
2012 2.85 million hectares -40.2%
2013 3.65 million hectares +28.0%
2014 3.31 million hectares -9.4%
2015 2.30 million hectares -30.6%
2016 3.76 million hectares +63.6%
2017 3.55 million hectares -5.5%
2018 2.71 million hectares -23.8%
2019 3.45 million hectares +27.5%
2020 3.83 million hectares +11.2%
2021 3.82 million hectares -0.5%
2022 3.48 million hectares -8.7%
2023 4.22 million hectares +21.2%
2024 3.38 million hectares -19.9%
2025 3.26 million hectares -3.5%

Senegal compared with similar countries

  • Senegal's 3.26 million hectares is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 49,425 hectares, 66.0× the median. (46 countries reporting)
  • Senegal's 3.26 million hectares is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 541,498 hectares, 6.0× the median. (48 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 3.66 million hectares 2.25 million hectares 4.86 million hectares 8
2010s 3.43 million hectares 2.30 million hectares 4.77 million hectares 10
2020s 3.67 million hectares 3.26 million hectares 4.22 million hectares 6

Countries ranked near Senegal

  1. 7 Zambia 3.95 million hectares compare
  2. 8 Brazil 3.63 million hectares compare
  3. 9 Burkina Faso 3.45 million hectares compare
  4. 11 Madagascar 2.96 million hectares compare
  5. 12 Nigeria 2.89 million hectares compare
  6. 13 Botswana 2.59 million hectares compare

See the full ranking of 225 places →

More reference data data for Senegal

All data for Senegal →

Frequently asked questions

What is area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Senegal?
Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Senegal was 3.26 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 Senegal?
The highest recorded value was 4.86 million hectares in 2006.
What is the lowest area burned by wildfires by land cover type recorded in Senegal?
The lowest recorded value was 2.25 million hectares in 2003.
How does Senegal rank for area burned by wildfires by land cover type?
Senegal ranks 10th out of 225 countries with data for 2025.
Is area burned by wildfires by land cover type rising or falling in Senegal?
Over the last ten years it is up 42.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Senegal 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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Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Senegal. Statizoid, drawing on Global Wildfire Information System (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 22 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/area-burned-wildfires-by-type/senegal/

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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, 5,400 data points, 2002–2025
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.