Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Uganda
Uganda: Area burned by wildfires by land cover type was 649,944 hectares in 2025. ▼ Falling
Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Uganda, 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 Uganda is 649,944 hectares, measured in 2025.
That represents a change of up 11.7% on the previous year and down 6.8% 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 30th of 225 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 24 years of available data.
Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Uganda, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 544,825 hectares | — |
| 2003 | 888,150 hectares | +63.0% |
| 2004 | 467,505 hectares | -47.4% |
| 2005 | 1.02 million hectares | +119.1% |
| 2006 | 216,011 hectares | -78.9% |
| 2007 | 1.19 million hectares | +449.0% |
| 2008 | 752,207 hectares | -36.6% |
| 2009 | 570,820 hectares | -24.1% |
| 2010 | 1.06 million hectares | +86.4% |
| 2011 | 450,955 hectares | -57.6% |
| 2012 | 1.26 million hectares | +179.6% |
| 2013 | 669,928 hectares | -46.9% |
| 2014 | 515,653 hectares | -23.0% |
| 2015 | 696,997 hectares | +35.2% |
| 2016 | 651,811 hectares | -6.5% |
| 2017 | 464,865 hectares | -28.7% |
| 2018 | 734,562 hectares | +58.0% |
| 2019 | 140,623 hectares | -80.9% |
| 2020 | 1.09 million hectares | +675.0% |
| 2021 | 807,997 hectares | -25.9% |
| 2022 | 778,546 hectares | -3.6% |
| 2023 | 487,876 hectares | -37.3% |
| 2024 | 581,639 hectares | +19.2% |
| 2025 | 649,944 hectares | +11.7% |
Uganda compared with similar countries
- Uganda's 649,944 hectares is above the median for low income countries, which is 96,961 hectares, 6.7× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Uganda's 649,944 hectares is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 541,498 hectares, 1.2× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Uganda changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +675.0% | 140,623 hectares | 1.09 million hectares |
| 2007 | +449.0% | 216,011 hectares | 1.19 million hectares |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | 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 | 732,644 hectares | 487,876 hectares | 1.09 million hectares | 6 |
Countries ranked near Uganda
More reference data data for Uganda
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.36 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 5.95 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 7.86 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.4214 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 7.86 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 4.57 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 5.13 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 29.65 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 42.22 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 2.29 (2050)
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 649,944 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 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 30th out of 225 countries with data for 2025.
- Is area burned by wildfires by land cover type rising or falling in Uganda?
- Over the last ten years it is down 6.8%. 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.
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.