In 2025, global gas flaring volumes rose by 6% to 167 bcm, the highest level since 2019, continuing the upward trend in flaring that began in 2023, according to the Global Gas Flaring Tracker, released by the World Bank (23/06/2026). Flaring intensity, the amount of associated gas flared per barrel of oil produced, also grew almost 3% in 2025. According to the World Bank, "the 167 bcm of gas flared in 2025 exceeds the volume of LNG that transited the Persian Gulf last year; a resource large enough to equal the gas consumption of Africa".
The share of total flaring from the top 9 flaring countries – Russia, Iran, Iraq, Venezuela, Mexico, Libya, Algeria, Nigeria, and the United States – represents 83% of total flaring in 2025, while they account for less than half of global oil production. The largest increases in flare volumes in 2025 occurred in Russia, Mexico, and Iran (in order of the flare volume increase). In Russia, which remains the highest flaring country in the world (18% of global flare volume in 2025), flaring increased by 9%, or 2.5 bcm.