Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in South Sudan

South Sudan: Area burned by wildfires by land cover type was 9.42 million hectares in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
9.42 million hectares
Change on year
up 4.9%
World rank
3rd
of 225 countries
All-time high
14.69 million hectares
in 2002
All-time low
6.24 million hectares
in 2019
Years of data
23
2002–2024

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

05.0M10.0M15.0M2002201320242002: 14.7M hectares2003: 10.7M hectares2004: 12.9M hectares2005: 13.3M hectares2006: 11.0M hectares2007: 12.4M hectares2008: 10.9M hectares2009: 12.8M hectares2010: 8.3M hectares2011: 11.6M hectares2012: 12.3M hectares2013: 11.6M hectares2014: 10.2M hectares2015: 12.7M hectares2016: 11.7M hectares2017: 8.2M hectares2018: 12.4M hectares2019: 6.2M hectares2020: 9.1M hectares2021: 10.7M hectares2022: 6.5M hectares2023: 9.0M hectares2024: 9.4M hectares

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

Analysis

In 2024, area burned by wildfires by land cover type in South Sudan stood at 9.42 million hectares.

That represents a change of up 4.9% on the previous year and down 7.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, area burned by wildfires by land cover type in South Sudan peaked at 14.69 million hectares in 2002 and was at its lowest, 6.24 million hectares, in 2019.

South Sudan ranks 3rd 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 12.34 million hectares 10.74 million hectares 14.69 million hectares 8
2010s 10.53 million hectares 6.24 million hectares 12.67 million hectares 10
2020s 8.94 million hectares 6.47 million hectares 10.71 million hectares 5

Countries ranked near South Sudan

  1. 1 Australia 31.86 million hectares compare
  2. 2 Angola 14.22 million hectares compare
  3. 4 Brazil 7.04 million hectares compare
  4. 5 Mali 6.85 million hectares compare
  5. 6 Sudan 5.43 million hectares compare

See the full ranking of 225 places →

More reference data data for South Sudan

All data for South Sudan →

Frequently asked questions

What is area burned by wildfires by land cover type in South Sudan?
Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in South Sudan was 9.42 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 South Sudan?
The highest recorded value was 14.69 million hectares in 2002.
What is the lowest area burned by wildfires by land cover type recorded in South Sudan?
The lowest recorded value was 6.24 million hectares in 2019.
How does South Sudan rank for area burned by wildfires by land cover type?
South Sudan ranks 3rd out of 225 countries with data for 2024.
Is area burned by wildfires by land cover type rising or falling in South Sudan?
Over the last ten years it is down 7.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this South Sudan 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.