Share of the total land area burnt by wildfires each year in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Share of the total land area burnt by wildfires each year was 1.9% in 2026. ▼ Falling
Share of the total land area burnt by wildfires each year in Costa Rica, 2012–2026
Source: Global Wildfire Information System (2026); Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of the total land area burnt by wildfires each year in Costa Rica is 1.9%, measured in 2026.
The figure is up 431.5% on the previous year and down 33.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of the total land area burnt by wildfires each year in Costa Rica peaked at 3.4% in 2013 and was at its lowest, 0.4%, in 2025.
That places Costa Rica 29th out of 236 countries with data for 2026, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 15 years of available data.
Share of the total land area burnt by wildfires each year in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 1.8% | — |
| 2013 | 3.4% | +86.3% |
| 2014 | 2.2% | -34.3% |
| 2015 | 2.6% | +14.3% |
| 2016 | 2.9% | +12.2% |
| 2017 | 1.6% | -44.0% |
| 2018 | 1.6% | -1.2% |
| 2019 | 2.5% | +58.2% |
| 2020 | 2.2% | -12.8% |
| 2021 | 0.8% | -64.5% |
| 2022 | 2.5% | +220.4% |
| 2023 | 0.7% | -71.4% |
| 2024 | 2.0% | +175.5% |
| 2025 | 0.4% | -81.6% |
| 2026 | 1.9% | +431.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 2.3% | 1.6% | 3.4% | 8 |
| 2020s | 1.5% | 0.4% | 2.5% | 7 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
- 26 Burkina Faso 2.0% compare
- 27 Tanzania, United Republic of 2.0% compare
- 28 Cuba 2.0% compare
- 30 El Salvador 1.8% compare
- 31 Australia 1.7% compare
- 32 Belize 1.7% compare
More reference data data for Costa Rica
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.2987 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.406 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 1.27 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0167 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 1.27 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.3161 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 2.24 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 5.91 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0907 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of the total land area burnt by wildfires each year in Costa Rica?
- Share of the total land area burnt by wildfires each year in Costa Rica was 1.9% in 2026, according to Global Wildfire Information System (2026); Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of the total land area burnt by wildfires each year recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 3.4% in 2013.
- What is the lowest share of the total land area burnt by wildfires each year recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.4% in 2025.
- How does Costa Rica rank for share of the total land area burnt by wildfires each year?
- Costa Rica ranks 29th out of 236 countries with data for 2026.
- Is share of the total land area burnt by wildfires each year rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is down 33.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
- The figures come from Global Wildfire Information System (2026); Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of the total land area burnt by wildfires each year. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 15 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
The total area consumed by wildfires is recorded for each fire event, even if fires occur in the same location multiple times. The 2026 data is incomplete and was last updated 28 August 2026.