Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Uganda

Uganda: Area burned by wildfires by land cover type was 581,639 hectares in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
581,639 hectares
Change on year
up 19.2%
World rank
31st
of 225 countries
All-time high
1.26 million hectares
in 2012
All-time low
140,623 hectares
in 2019
Years of data
23
2002–2024

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

250.0k500.0k750.0k1.0M1.2M2002201320242002: 544.8k hectares2003: 888.1k hectares2004: 467.5k hectares2005: 1.0M hectares2006: 216.0k hectares2007: 1.2M hectares2008: 752.2k hectares2009: 570.8k hectares2010: 1.1M hectares2011: 451.0k hectares2012: 1.3M hectares2013: 669.9k hectares2014: 515.7k hectares2015: 697.0k hectares2016: 651.8k hectares2017: 464.9k hectares2018: 734.6k hectares2019: 140.6k hectares2020: 1.1M hectares2021: 808.0k hectares2022: 778.5k hectares2023: 487.9k hectares2024: 581.6k 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 Uganda is 581,639 hectares, measured in 2024.

That represents a change of up 19.2% on the previous year and up 12.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Uganda peaked at 1.26 million hectares in 2012 and was at its lowest, 140,623 hectares, in 2019.

Uganda ranks 31st of 225 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

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

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 706,182 hectares 216,011 hectares 1.19 million hectares 8
2010s 665,005 hectares 140,623 hectares 1.26 million hectares 10
2020s 749,184 hectares 487,876 hectares 1.09 million hectares 5

Countries ranked near Uganda

  1. 28 Zimbabwe 872,330 hectares compare
  2. 29 Niger 772,879 hectares compare
  3. 30 Benin 617,036 hectares compare
  4. 32 Colombia 512,862 hectares compare
  5. 33 Kazakhstan 500,176 hectares compare
  6. 34 Guinea 470,661 hectares compare

See the full ranking of 225 places →

More reference data data for Uganda

All data for Uganda →

Frequently asked questions

What is area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Uganda?
Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Uganda was 581,639 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 Uganda?
The highest recorded value was 1.26 million hectares in 2012.
What is the lowest area burned by wildfires by land cover type recorded in Uganda?
The lowest recorded value was 140,623 hectares in 2019.
How does Uganda rank for area burned by wildfires by land cover type?
Uganda ranks 31st out of 225 countries with data for 2024.
Is area burned by wildfires by land cover type rising or falling in Uganda?
Over the last ten years it is up 12.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Uganda 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.