As of August 1, 2026, wildfires and landscape fires have burned 112.3 million hectares of land across the globe, an area roughly the size of South Africa.

This visualization, via Visual Capitalist’s Sofie Gilbert, uses data from the Global Wildfire Information System (GWIS) via Our World in Data to show where that burning is concentrated in 2026 as of August 1.

The data includes prescribed burns, agricultural burns, and uncontrolled wildfires.

Africa Is the Epicenter of Global Fire Activity

More than half of the world’s burned land so far in 2026 is in Africa.

The data table below shows the land area burned for every country as of August 1, 2026:

RankCountry or TerritoryArea Burned in Hectares
(YTD to Aug 1, 2026)ShareRegion
1🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of Congo13,611,12612.1%Africa
2🇦🇺 Australia11,801,65010.5%Oceania
3🇦🇴 Angola7,473,0346.7%Africa
4🇸🇸 South Sudan6,955,0226.2%Africa
5🇨🇫 Central African Republic6,017,8815.4%Africa
6🇲🇲 Myanmar4,325,7023.9%Asia
7🇮🇳 India4,029,7043.6%Asia
8🇷🇺 Russia3,335,0293.0%Europe
9🇬🇳 Guinea3,250,9922.9%Africa
10🇿🇲 Zambia3,213,6872.9%Africa
11🇻🇪 Venezuela2,977,4662.7%South America
12🇳🇬 Nigeria2,807,2002.5%Africa
13🇹🇭 Thailand2,669,5502.4%Asia
14🇱🇦 Laos2,641,3212.4%Asia
15🇺🇸 United States2,371,2072.1%North America
16🇨🇳 China2,265,0572.0%Asia
17🇨🇦 Canada2,031,7541.8%North America
18🇧🇷 Brazil2,030,2091.8%South America
19🇪🇹 Ethiopia1,851,1311.6%Africa
20🇬🇭 Ghana1,763,3951.6%Africa
21🇰🇭 Cambodia1,525,3121.4%Asia
22🇲🇱 Mali1,490,6981.3%Africa
23🇨🇲 Cameroon1,435,3731.3%Africa
24🇹🇩 Chad1,309,1551.2%Africa
25🇲🇽 Mexico1,264,8231.1%North America
26🇸🇩 Sudan1,203,1581.1%Africa
27🇸🇳 Senegal1,187,5911.1%Africa
28🇹🇿 Tanzania1,048,6630.9%Africa
29🇨🇴 Colombia891,9850.8%South America
30🇲🇿 Mozambique787,0660.7%Africa
31🇿🇦 South Africa784,6470.7%Africa
32🇸🇱 Sierra Leone731,5350.7%Africa
33🇲🇬 Madagascar687,0860.6%Africa
34🇨🇬 Congo677,3540.6%Africa
35🇧🇫 Burkina Faso553,7190.5%Africa
36🇧🇴 Bolivia546,4900.5%South America
37🇦🇷 Argentina545,3040.5%South America
38🇺🇬 Uganda519,6010.5%Africa
39🇮🇩 Indonesia488,3650.4%Asia
40🇨🇮 Cote d’Ivoire451,5270.4%Africa
41🇰🇿 Kazakhstan429,5200.4%Asia
42🇵🇾 Paraguay405,6690.4%South America
43🇧🇯 Benin343,4160.3%Africa
44🇭🇳 Honduras320,8840.3%North America
45🇨🇱 Chile304,9830.3%South America
46🇻🇳 Vietnam283,6380.3%Asia
47🇵🇭 Philippines237,1680.2%Asia
48🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea228,4400.2%Oceania
49🇹🇬 Togo208,9050.2%Africa
50🇳🇮 Nicaragua205,3060.2%North America
51🇬🇼 Guinea-Bissau198,4970.2%Africa
52🇿🇼 Zimbabwe191,3330.2%Africa
53🇨🇺 Cuba181,7210.2%North America
54🇪🇸 Spain179,6770.2%Europe
55🇬🇹 Guatemala171,3980.2%North America
56🇧🇼 Botswana170,8550.2%Africa
57🇱🇷 Liberia170,4280.2%Africa
58🇳🇵 Nepal156,2150.1%Asia
59🇺🇦 Ukraine154,2020.1%Europe
60🇳🇦 Namibia145,0110.1%Africa
61🇧🇩 Bangladesh143,9820.1%Asia
62🇮🇷 Iran119,4920.1%Asia
63🇬🇦 Gabon103,4190.1%Africa
64🇨🇷 Costa Rica98,0350.1%North America
65🇩🇿 Algeria97,9850.1%Africa
66🇬🇲 Gambia97,6640.1%Africa
67🇫🇷 France96,0500.1%Europe
68🇳🇪 Niger87,0000.1%Africa
69🇵🇰 Pakistan80,4850.1%Asia
70🇮🇹 Italy69,0500.1%Europe
71🇮🇶 Iraq65,8260.1%Asia
72🇰🇪 Kenya62,4590.1%Africa
73🇲🇳 Mongolia60,4470.1%Asia
74🇲🇼 Malawi57,6400.1%Africa

Much of this reflects deliberate seasonal burning. Across sub-Saharan Africa, fire is a long-standing tool for clearing land, managing pasture, and preparing fields for planting. Even so, the scale is striking: Africa has recorded roughly 26 times as much burned area as the United States so far in 2026.

The Democratic Republic of Congo leads all countries with 13.6 million hectares burned, an area roughly the size of England. Angola follows at 7.5 million hectares, South Sudan at 7.0 million, and the Central African Republic at 6.0 million.

Major Fire Seasons Beyond the Global Leaders

Burned-area totals alone do not measure wildfire severity or risk, particularly because the GWIS dataset includes agricultural and prescribed burning. Still, several countries outside the global leaders have experienced significant uncontrolled wildfires in 2026.

Spain has experienced one of the year’s most severe fire seasons. Driven by extreme heat and drought, wildfires had scorched approximately 180,000 hectares as of August 1, an exceptionally high total for this point in the season. A massive fire in Ávila became the largest in Spanish history, and with simultaneous fires raging across France, combined evacuations across both countries surpassed 300,000.

Canada has recorded 2.0 million hectares burned as of August 1, with fires active across multiple provinces. The 2026 season follows the country’s record-breaking 2023 season, which burned approximately 15 million hectares according to Natural Resources Canada, seven times the historic national annual average.

The United States has recorded 2.4 million hectares burned, with Oregon and Washington experiencing some of the most severe ongoing fires. More than 100 large wildfires were actively burning as of early August, driven by drought conditions affecting more than a quarter of the country’s land area.

As four decades of U.S. wildfire data show, the number of fires has declined over time while the total land burned has increased, pointing to fires that are fewer but more intense.

Australia Stands Apart in the Southern Hemisphere

Outside Africa, Australia has recorded the largest burned area at 11.8 million hectares. That ranks second globally behind the Democratic Republic of Congo and accounts for nearly all of Oceania’s 11% share.

The data table below shows a regional breakdown of land area burned in 2026 so far:

RegionArea Burned in Hectares
(YTD to Aug 1, 2026)Share
Africa61,870,30055.1%
Asia19,733,18217.6%
Oceania12,061,71410.7%
South America7,813,3777.0%
North America6,804,9056.1%
Europe3,992,4043.6%
World112,275,880100%

Asia accounts for 18% of global burned land. Myanmar leads the region at 4.3 million hectares, followed by India at 4.0 million. Thailand, Laos, and China each add between 2.3 and 2.7 million hectares.

South America contributes 7% of global burned land, led by Venezuela at 3.0 million hectares and Brazil at 2.0 million. Europe accounts for just 3%, with Russia responsible for most of the region’s 3.3 million-hectare total.

If you enjoyed this graphic, check out How Much CO2 do Wildfires Contribute Globally? on Voronoi.