Share of Land Burned by Wildfires by Country 2025
Key Findings
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South Sudan leads in Share of Land Area Burned (%) with 23.12 in 2025.
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Average Share of Land Area Burned (%) in 2025: 9.61 · median: 7.70.
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Gap in 2025: South Sudan is 5.1× larger than Madagascar.
About This Dataset
Share of Land Burned by Wildfires by Country 2025
What this chart shows. The 25 countries where wildfires burned the largest share of land in 2025. In South Sudan the burned area equalled 23.12 per cent of the country's land, followed by Angola with 19.98 per cent and Zambia with 19.11 per cent.
How the data is collected. Our World in Data divides the GWIS burned area by each country's land area from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. Because land that burns twice is counted twice, the figure is burned area relative to land area rather than the share of distinct land that burned.
Background. The top eight on this chart are all in sub-Saharan Africa, where fires sweep through savannas and grasslands: in GWIS's separate land-cover data, 88.5 per cent of Africa's burned area in 2025 was savanna or grassland. By comparison, Australia, which burned the most land of any country, burned 4.61 per cent of its territory.
Limits. Small countries can move sharply between years because a few large fires make up much of their total. Satellite sensors also miss some small fires, so shares in countries with many small burns may be understated.
How the data is collected. Our World in Data divides the GWIS burned area by each country's land area from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. Because land that burns twice is counted twice, the figure is burned area relative to land area rather than the share of distinct land that burned.
Background. The top eight on this chart are all in sub-Saharan Africa, where fires sweep through savannas and grasslands: in GWIS's separate land-cover data, 88.5 per cent of Africa's burned area in 2025 was savanna or grassland. By comparison, Australia, which burned the most land of any country, burned 4.61 per cent of its territory.
Limits. Small countries can move sharply between years because a few large fires make up much of their total. Satellite sensors also miss some small fires, so shares in countries with many small burns may be understated.
Analysis
Sierra Leone, fourth with 15.67 per cent, is the only West African country in the top five.
Data Insights
Numbers, trends & sources behind this chart
Methodology & source
- Data source
- Global Wildfire Information System (GWIS) via Our World in Data
- Coverage
- 25 entities · 2025 · 25 observations
- Measure
- Share of Land Area Burned (%)
- Last updated
- 29 September 2026
- Compiled by
- The ANYSTAT team, from the source above
How the figures are calculated
- Values use the measure and unit named on this page. Consult the dataset description and cited source for coverage, definitions and any unit conversions. Displayed values may be rounded for readability.
- Entities are ranked highest-first on their value in 2025.
An article using this data
Wildfires Burned Less Land in 2025 Than in Any Year Since 2012, but Canada's Fires Released the Most CO2
GWIS satellite data for 2025: wildfires burned 265.4 million hectares worldwide. Australia burned the most land, DR Congo had the most fires and Canada's fires...
Data Sources & References
All external sources cited in this dataset
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How these countries rank across all our charts
Each country's page lists its position in every ranking on ANYSTAT.
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