Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Uruguay
Uruguay: Area burned by wildfires by land cover type was 10,561 hectares in 2025. ▼ Falling
Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Uruguay, 2002–2025
Source: Global Wildfire Information System (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
Uruguay recorded 10,561 hectares for area burned by wildfires by land cover type in 2025.
That represents a change of up 339.3% on the previous year and down 33.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Uruguay peaked at 21,444 hectares in 2010 and was at its lowest, 2,404 hectares, in 2024.
Uruguay ranks 88th of 225 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 24 years of available data.
Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Uruguay, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 13,481 hectares | — |
| 2003 | 19,341 hectares | +43.5% |
| 2004 | 21,273 hectares | +10.0% |
| 2005 | 7,213 hectares | -66.1% |
| 2006 | 9,595 hectares | +33.0% |
| 2007 | 10,411 hectares | +8.5% |
| 2008 | 19,083 hectares | +83.3% |
| 2009 | 13,695 hectares | -28.2% |
| 2010 | 21,444 hectares | +56.6% |
| 2011 | 10,862 hectares | -49.3% |
| 2012 | 17,645 hectares | +62.5% |
| 2013 | 6,998 hectares | -60.3% |
| 2014 | 3,091 hectares | -55.8% |
| 2015 | 15,863 hectares | +413.2% |
| 2016 | 8,243 hectares | -48.0% |
| 2017 | 5,882 hectares | -28.6% |
| 2018 | 6,418 hectares | +9.1% |
| 2019 | 8,307 hectares | +29.4% |
| 2020 | 12,600 hectares | +51.7% |
| 2021 | 8,114 hectares | -35.6% |
| 2022 | 9,080 hectares | +11.9% |
| 2023 | 7,213 hectares | -20.6% |
| 2024 | 2,404 hectares | -66.7% |
| 2025 | 10,561 hectares | +339.3% |
Uruguay compared with similar countries
- Uruguay's 10,561 hectares is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 2,758 hectares, 3.8× the median. (38 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Uruguay 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | +413.2% | 3,091 hectares | 15,863 hectares |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 14,261 hectares | 7,213 hectares | 21,273 hectares | 8 |
| 2010s | 10,475 hectares | 3,091 hectares | 21,444 hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 8,329 hectares | 2,404 hectares | 12,600 hectares | 6 |
Countries ranked near Uruguay
- 85 Guinea-Bissau 12,300 hectares compare
- 86 North Macedonia 11,248 hectares compare
- 86 Suriname 11,248 hectares compare
- 89 Bosnia and Herzegovina 10,089 hectares compare
- 90 Cuba 10,025 hectares compare
- 91 Romania 9,381 hectares compare
More reference data data for Uruguay
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.2999 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 4.87 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 6.98 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.3685 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 6.98 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.01 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.2195 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 24.48 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 33.62 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 2.01 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Uruguay?
- Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Uruguay was 10,561 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 Uruguay?
- The highest recorded value was 21,444 hectares in 2010.
- What is the lowest area burned by wildfires by land cover type recorded in Uruguay?
- The lowest recorded value was 2,404 hectares in 2024.
- How does Uruguay rank for area burned by wildfires by land cover type?
- Uruguay ranks 88th out of 225 countries with data for 2025.
- Is area burned by wildfires by land cover type rising or falling in Uruguay?
- Over the last ten years it is down 33.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Uruguay 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.