Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe: Area burned by wildfires by land cover type was 872,330 hectares in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
872,330 hectares
Change on year
down 47.7%
World rank
28th
of 225 countries
All-time high
3.55 million hectares
in 2011
All-time low
630,410 hectares
in 2020
Years of data
23
2002–2024

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

1.0M2.0M3.0M4.0M2002201320242002: 1.4M hectares2003: 1.7M hectares2004: 2.7M hectares2005: 2.5M hectares2006: 2.3M hectares2007: 2.9M hectares2008: 3.5M hectares2009: 3.5M hectares2010: 3.5M hectares2011: 3.6M hectares2012: 2.6M hectares2013: 1.9M hectares2014: 2.1M hectares2015: 2.6M hectares2016: 1.3M hectares2017: 1.7M hectares2018: 1.8M hectares2019: 1.8M hectares2020: 630.4k hectares2021: 1.3M hectares2022: 2.1M hectares2023: 1.7M hectares2024: 872.3k hectares

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

Analysis

Zimbabwe recorded 872,330 hectares for area burned by wildfires by land cover type in 2024.

The figure is down 47.7% on the previous year and down 57.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Zimbabwe peaked at 3.55 million hectares in 2011 and was at its lowest, 630,410 hectares, in 2020.

That places Zimbabwe 28th out of 225 countries with data for 2024, putting it 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 2.56 million hectares 1.42 million hectares 3.53 million hectares 8
2010s 2.29 million hectares 1.34 million hectares 3.55 million hectares 10
2020s 1.31 million hectares 630,410 hectares 2.06 million hectares 5

Countries ranked near Zimbabwe

  1. 25 Namibia 1.05 million hectares compare
  2. 26 Ethiopia 1.03 million hectares compare
  3. 27 Argentina 966,372 hectares compare
  4. 29 Niger 772,879 hectares compare
  5. 30 Benin 617,036 hectares compare
  6. 31 Uganda 581,639 hectares compare

See the full ranking of 225 places →

More reference data data for Zimbabwe

All data for Zimbabwe →

Frequently asked questions

What is area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Zimbabwe?
Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Zimbabwe was 872,330 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 Zimbabwe?
The highest recorded value was 3.55 million hectares in 2011.
What is the lowest area burned by wildfires by land cover type recorded in Zimbabwe?
The lowest recorded value was 630,410 hectares in 2020.
How does Zimbabwe rank for area burned by wildfires by land cover type?
Zimbabwe ranks 28th out of 225 countries with data for 2024.
Is area burned by wildfires by land cover type rising or falling in Zimbabwe?
Over the last ten years it is down 57.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Zimbabwe 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.