Terrestrial protected areas (% of total land area) - Country Ranking

Definition: Terrestrial protected areas are totally or partially protected areas of at least 1,000 hectares that are designated by national authorities as scientific reserves with limited public access, national parks, natural monuments, nature reserves or wildlife sanctuaries, protected landscapes, and areas managed mainly for sustainable use. Marine areas, unclassified areas, littoral (intertidal) areas, and sites protected under local or provincial law are excluded.

Source: World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) where the compilation and management is carried out by United Nations Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) in collaboration with governments, non-governmental organizations, academia and ind

See also: Thematic map, Time series comparison

Find indicator:
Rank Country Value Year
1 Seychelles 61.52 2021
2 New Caledonia 59.66 2021
3 Venezuela 56.88 2021
4 Luxembourg 51.34 2021
5 Bhutan 49.67 2021
6 Brunei 46.87 2021
7 Palau 44.18 2021
8 Liechtenstein 42.63 2021
9 Hong Kong SAR, China 41.88 2021
10 Greenland 41.59 2021
11 Zambia 41.26 2021
12 Bulgaria 41.04 2021
13 Slovenia 40.36 2021
14 Cambodia 39.74 2021
15 Poland 39.54 2021
16 Cyprus 38.60 2021
17 Croatia 38.36 2021
18 Tanzania 38.24 2021
19 Namibia 37.89 2021
20 Slovak Republic 37.59 2021
21 Guinea 37.57 2021
22 Belize 37.55 2021
23 Germany 37.45 2021
24 Congo 36.79 2021
25 The Bahamas 36.63 2021
26 Greece 35.22 2021
27 Comoros 33.75 2021
28 New Zealand 33.40 2021
29 Panama 31.37 2021
30 Bolivia 30.87 2021
31 Malta 30.64 2021
32 Trinidad and Tobago 30.59 2021
33 Brazil 30.30 2021
34 Norway 29.92 2021
35 Sri Lanka 29.86 2021
36 Japan 29.75 2021
37 Benin 29.64 2021
38 Mozambique 29.48 2021
39 Austria 29.28 2021
40 São Tomé and Principe 29.26 2021
41 Botswana 29.14 2021
42 United Kingdom 28.74 2021
43 Costa Rica 28.42 2021
44 Spain 28.12 2021
45 France 27.98 2021
46 Togo 27.98 2021
47 Zimbabwe 27.21 2021
48 Andorra 26.86 2021
49 Senegal 26.39 2021
50 Guinea-Bissau 26.32 2021
51 Dominican Republic 26.24 2021
52 Romania 24.52 2021
53 Israel 24.49 2021
54 Armenia 24.31 2021
55 Nepal 23.63 2021
56 Honduras 23.45 2021
57 Ecuador 23.22 2021
58 Côte d'Ivoire 22.96 2021
59 Portugal 22.91 2021
60 St. Kitts and Nevis 22.90 2021
61 Malawi 22.88 2021
62 Hungary 22.60 2021
63 Netherlands 22.48 2021
64 Gabon 22.44 2021
65 St. Vincent and the Grenadines 22.42 2021
66 Kiribati 22.36 2021
67 Tajikistan 22.28 2021
68 Peru 22.27 2021
69 Czech Republic 22.16 2021
70 Dominica 21.96 2021
71 Italy 21.49 2021
72 Nicaragua 21.35 2021
73 Estonia 21.33 2021
74 Chad 20.97 2021
75 Chile 20.90 2021
76 Australia 20.36 2021
77 Iceland 20.30 2021
78 Guatemala 20.12 2021
79 Antigua and Barbuda 19.94 2021
80 Mongolia 19.80 2021
81 United Arab Emirates 19.35 2021
82 Equatorial Guinea 19.27 2021
83 St. Lucia 18.75 2021
84 Lao PDR 18.69 2021
85 Albania 18.59 2021
86 Thailand 18.55 2021
87 Niger 18.20 2021
88 Latvia 18.19 2021
89 Central African Republic 18.06 2021
90 Kuwait 17.10 2021
91 Lithuania 17.05 2021
92 Ethiopia 17.01 2021
93 Denmark 16.97 2021
94 Korea 16.97 2021
95 Colombia 16.91 2021
96 Burkina Faso 16.43 2021
97 Cuba 16.23 2021
98 Jamaica 16.18 2021
99 Uganda 16.06 2021
100 Timor-Leste 16.00 2021
101 Philippines 15.87 2021
102 Qatar 15.78 2021
103 China 15.62 2021
104 Belgium 15.49 2021
105 Ghana 14.84 2021
106 Suriname 14.52 2021
107 Sweden 14.52 2021
108 Mexico 14.49 2021
109 Ireland 14.44 2021
110 Paraguay 14.31 2021
111 Nigeria 13.93 2021
112 Belarus 13.84 2021
113 Dem. Rep. Congo 13.83 2021
114 Montenegro 13.78 2021
115 Finland 13.33 2021
116 Malaysia 13.33 2021
117 Tuvalu 13.24 2021
118 Egypt 13.14 2021
119 United States 13.02 2021
120 Ukraine 12.96 2021
121 Sierra Leone 12.75 2021
122 Tonga 12.59 2021
123 North Macedonia 12.48 2021
124 Kenya 12.42 2021
125 Pakistan 12.31 2021
126 Indonesia 12.17 2021
127 Switzerland 12.13 2021
128 Canada 11.91 2021
129 Russia 11.45 2021
130 Moldova 11.43 2021
131 Cameroon 10.98 2021
132 Cayman Islands 10.76 2021
133 Monaco 10.18 2021
134 Azerbaijan 10.16 2021
135 Kazakhstan 10.03 2021
136 Grenada 9.54 2021
137 Georgia 9.29 2021
138 Rwanda 9.11 2021
139 South Africa 8.69 2021
140 El Salvador 8.64 2021
141 Iran 8.61 2021
142 Haiti 8.61 2021
143 Guyana 8.50 2021
144 Argentina 8.48 2021
145 Samoa 8.22 2021
146 Tunisia 7.91 2021
147 The Gambia 7.72 2021
148 Serbia 7.65 2021
149 Burundi 7.59 2021
150 Vietnam 7.58 2021
151 Mali 7.53 2021
152 India 7.52 2021
153 Madagascar 7.49 2021
154 Puerto Rico 7.38 2021
155 Angola 6.97 2021
156 Turkey 6.95 2021
157 Kyrgyz Republic 6.71 2021
158 Bahrain 6.62 2021
159 Myanmar 6.58 2021
160 Uzbekistan 5.77 2021
161 Singapore 5.55 2021
162 Fiji 5.41 2021
163 Eritrea 4.87 2020
164 Saudi Arabia 4.76 2021
165 Mauritius 4.73 2021
166 Algeria 4.64 2021
167 Bangladesh 4.61 2021
168 Jordan 4.47 2021
169 Eswatini 4.26 2021
170 Vanuatu 4.20 2021
171 Liberia 4.05 2021
172 Bosnia and Herzegovina 3.97 2021
173 Papua New Guinea 3.69 2021
174 Uruguay 3.68 2021
175 Afghanistan 3.64 2021
176 Oman 3.58 2021
177 Turkmenistan 3.25 2021
178 Cabo Verde 2.90 2021
179 Dem. People's Rep. Korea 2.44 2021
180 Sudan 2.28 2021
181 Morocco 2.20 2021
182 Lebanon 1.89 2021
183 Solomon Islands 1.82 2021
184 Djibouti 1.57 2021
185 Iraq 1.53 2021
186 Barbados 1.27 2021
187 Somalia 0.83 2016
188 Yemen 0.77 2021
189 Syrian Arab Republic 0.69 2021
190 Mauritania 0.62 2021
191 Lesotho 0.50 2021
192 Libya 0.13 2021

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Development Relevance: The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) defines a protected area as "a clearly defined geographical space, recognized, dedicated and managed, through legal or other effective means, to achieve the long-term conservation of nature with associated ecosystem services and cultural values." Terrestrial protected areas are totally or partially protected areas of at least 1,000 hectares that are designated by national authorities as scientific reserves with limited public access, national parks, natural monuments, nature reserves or wildlife sanctuaries, protected landscapes, and areas managed mainly for sustainable use. Nationally protected terrestrial are terrestrial areas as a percentage of total territorial area, where all nationally designated protected areas with known location and extent are included. As threats to biodiversity mount, the international community is increasingly focusing on conserving diversity. Deforestation is a major cause of loss of biodiversity, and habitat conservation is vital for stemming this loss. Conservation efforts have focused on protecting areas of high biodiversity. Increasing the proportion of terrestrial and marine areas protected helps defend vulnerable plant and animal species and safeguard biodiversity. Protected areas remain the fundamental building blocks of virtually all national and international conservation strategies, supported by governments and international institutions. They provide the core of efforts to protect the world's threatened species and are increasingly recognized as essential providers of ecosystem services and biological resources. Some sites are owned and managed by governments, others by private individuals, companies, communities and faith groups. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) address concerns common to all economies. In recognition of the vulnerability of animal and plant species, SDGs include targets 14 and 15 to highlight the importance of marine and terrestorial protected areas. Increasing the proportion of terrestrial and marine areas protected helps defend vulnerable plant and animal species and safeguard biodiversity.

Limitations and Exceptions: The data source for this indicator is the World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA), the most comprehensive global dataset on marine and terrestrial protected areas available. The extent to which the land areas, including inland waters, and territorial waters of a country/territory are protected is useful for planning purpose to protect biodiversity. However, it is neither an indication of how well managed the terrestrial and marine protected areas are, nor confirmation that protection measures are effectively enforced. Further, the indicator does not provide information on non-designated or internationally designated protected areas that may also be important for conserving biodiversity. There are known data and knowledge gaps for some countries/regions due to difficulties in reporting national protected area data to the WDPA and/or determining whether a site conforms to the IUCN definition of a protected area. Gaps and/or time lags in reporting national protected area data to the WDPA can however result in discrepancies, which are resolved in communication with data providers. The World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC) compiles data on protected areas, numbers of certain species, and numbers of those species under threat from various sources. Because of differences in definitions, reporting practices, and reporting periods, cross-country comparability is limited. Due to variations in consistency and methods of collection, data quality is highly variable across countries. Some countries update their information more frequently than others, some have more accurate data on extent of coverage, and many underreport the number or extent of protected areas.

Statistical Concept and Methodology: This indicator is calculated using all the nationally designated protected areas recorded in the World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) whose location and extent is known. The WDPA database is stored within a Geographic Information System (GIS) that stores information about protected areas such as their name, type and date of designation, documented area, geographic location (point) and/or boundary (polygon). Designating an area as protected does not mean that protection is in force. And for small countries that have only protected areas smaller than 1,000 hectares, the size limit in the definition leads to an underestimate of protected areas. Nationally protected areas are defined using the six IUCN management categories for areas of at least 1,000 hectares: scientific reserves and strict nature reserves with limited public access; national parks of national or international significance and not materially affected by human activity; natural monuments and natural landscapes with unique aspects; managed nature reserves and wildlife sanctuaries; protected landscapes (which may include cultural landscapes); and areas managed mainly for the sustainable use of natural systems to ensure long-term protection and maintenance of biological diversity. A GIS analysis is used to calculate terrestrial and marine protection. For this a global protected area layer is created by combining the polygons and points recorded in the WDPA. Circular buffers are created around points based on the known extent of protected areas for which no polygon is available. Annual protected area layers are created by dissolving the global protected area layer by the known year of establishment of protected areas recorded in the WDPA. The annual protected area layers are overlaid with country/territory boundaries, coastlines and buffered coastlines (delineating the territorial waters) to obtain the absolute coverage (in square kilometers) of protected areas by country/territory. The total area of a country's/territory's terrestrial protected areas and marine protected areas in territorial waters is divided by the total area of its land areas (including inland waters) and territorial waters to obtain the relative coverage (percentage) of protected areas.

Aggregation method: Weighted average

Periodicity: Annual

General Comments: Restricted use: Please contact the Protected Planet for third-party use of these data.