Protected terrestrial land area (% of total land area) — 2022
Share of each country’s land designated as protected areas in 2022, based on the World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) and UN SDG indicator 15.1.2.
Loading visualization...
Key Insights
- •Protected land shares vary dramatically—from near zero in some countries to very high coverage in others.
- •Many countries cluster around the 10–25% range, reflecting recent conservation targets and expansions.
- •High coverage does not necessarily imply strong ecological representation; it may reflect protection of remote or low-pressure areas.
- •Updates to WDPA submissions can materially change a country’s reported share even without new protections on the ground.
Country Rankings
Top 10 Countries
Bottom 10 Countries
Data Analysis
Value Distribution
How countries are distributed across the value range
Regional Comparison
Average values by world region (Global avg: 13.6%)
About This Statistic
This statistic measures the percentage of a country’s total land area that is officially designated as protected (e.g., national parks, nature reserves, wilderness areas). It is widely used to track progress toward biodiversity conservation commitments and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 15: Life on Land). Higher values generally indicate stronger formal conservation coverage, though they do not automatically guarantee effective enforcement or ecological representativeness.
The values come from the UN SDG Global Database indicator 15.1.2 (Protected area coverage), which is compiled using the World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) managed by UNEP-WCMC and IUCN. The indicator is typically updated as WDPA boundaries and national reporting improve; comparisons are best made within the same reference year and methodology.
Full Data
| Rank ↑ | Country ↕ | Value ↕ |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Venezuela | 54.0% |
| 2 | Slovenia | 39.5% |
| 3 | Luxembourg | 39.0% |
| 4 | United Republic of Tanzania | 38.0% |
| 5 | Zambia | 38.0% |
| 6 | Spain | 36.0% |
| 7 | Panama | 35.4% |
| 8 | New Zealand | 33.8% |
| 9 | Guatemala | 33.5% |
| 10 | Brazil | 30.2% |
| 11 | Jamaica | 29.0% |
| 12 | Austria | 29.0% |
| 13 | Switzerland | 28.5% |
| 14 | Guinea | 28.1% |
| 15 | United Kingdom | 28.0% |
| 16 | Netherlands | 27.8% |
| 17 | France | 27.6% |
| 18 | Zimbabwe | 27.1% |
| 19 | Cambodia | 27.0% |
| 20 | Guinea-Bissau | 27.0% |
| 21 | Costa Rica | 26.6% |
| 22 | Albania | 25.8% |
| 23 | Honduras | 25.5% |
| 24 | Israel | 25.0% |
| 25 | Senegal | 24.8% |
| 26 | Estonia | 24.5% |
| 27 | Dominican Republic | 24.0% |
| 28 | Qatar | 24.0% |
| 29 | Cote d'Ivoire | 23.7% |
| 30 | Nepal | 23.0% |
| 31 | Slovakia | 23.0% |
| 32 | Tajikistan | 22.1% |
| 33 | Hungary | 22.0% |
| 34 | Australia | 22.0% |
| 35 | Italy | 21.6% |
| 36 | Portugal | 21.6% |
| 37 | Chile | 21.4% |
| 38 | Belgium | 21.1% |
| 39 | Japan | 20.6% |
| 40 | Morocco | 20.6% |
| 41 | Ecuador | 20.5% |
| 42 | Cuba | 20.0% |
| 43 | Argentina | 19.8% |
| 44 | Thailand | 19.3% |
| 45 | Iceland | 19.0% |
| 46 | Latvia | 19.0% |
| 47 | Bolivia | 18.7% |
| 48 | Barbados | 18.5% |
| 49 | People's Republic of China | 18.0% |
| 50 | Nicaragua | 18.0% |
| 51 | Lithuania | 17.7% |
| 52 | Norway | 17.1% |
| 53 | South Korea | 17.0% |
| 54 | Namibia | 17.0% |
| 55 | Peru | 17.0% |
| 56 | Bhutan | 16.5% |
| 57 | Cameroon | 16.2% |
| 58 | Mozambique | 16.2% |
| 59 | Liberia | 16.0% |
| 60 | Solomon Islands | 15.8% |
| 61 | Czech Republic | 15.7% |
| 62 | Ghana | 15.7% |
| 63 | Paraguay | 15.7% |
| 64 | United Arab Emirates | 15.4% |
| 65 | Ethiopia | 15.1% |
| 66 | Finland | 15.0% |
| 67 | Egypt | 15.0% |
| 68 | Belize | 14.9% |
| 69 | Angola | 14.7% |
| 70 | Colombia | 14.6% |
| 71 | Niger | 14.6% |
| 72 | Gabon | 14.5% |
| 73 | Indonesia | 14.5% |
| 74 | Nigeria | 14.3% |
| 75 | Ireland | 14.0% |
| 76 | Togo | 14.0% |
| 77 | Algeria | 13.9% |
| 78 | Sweden | 13.8% |
| 79 | Mongolia | 13.5% |
| 80 | Mexico | 13.4% |
| 81 | Sierra Leone | 13.3% |
| 82 | Democratic Republic of the Congo | 13.0% |
| 83 | Malaysia | 13.0% |
| 84 | United States of America | 13.0% |
| 85 | Sri Lanka | 12.9% |
| 86 | Republic of the Congo | 12.8% |
| 87 | Canada | 12.5% |
| 88 | Central African Republic | 12.4% |
| 89 | Kenya | 12.2% |
| 90 | Pakistan | 12.0% |
| 91 | Russian Federation | 12.0% |
| 92 | Botswana | 12.0% |
| 93 | Georgia | 11.5% |
| 94 | British Indian Ocean Territory | 11.1% |
| 95 | Philippines | 11.0% |
| 96 | South Sudan | 11.0% |
| 97 | Türkiye | 11.0% |
| 98 | Malawi | 10.8% |
| 99 | Poland | 10.8% |
| 100 | Uganda | 10.8% |
| 101 | Islamic Republic of Iran | 10.5% |
| 102 | Fiji | 10.3% |
| 103 | Rwanda | 10.2% |
| 104 | Burundi | 10.0% |
| 105 | Chad | 9.9% |
| 106 | Guyana | 9.6% |
| 107 | Cyprus | 9.2% |
| 108 | Kazakhstan | 9.1% |
| 109 | Croatia | 9.0% |
| 110 | Lao People's Democratic Republic | 9.0% |
| 111 | Belarus | 8.8% |
| 112 | The Republic of North Macedonia | 8.7% |
| 113 | Denmark | 8.6% |
| 114 | South Africa | 8.5% |
| 115 | Uzbekistan | 8.4% |
| 116 | Greece | 7.8% |
| 117 | Sudan | 7.8% |
| 118 | Serbia | 7.6% |
| 119 | Vietnam | 7.6% |
| 120 | North Korea | 7.2% |
| 121 | Cape Verde | 7.0% |
| 122 | Tunisia | 7.0% |
| 123 | Myanmar | 6.8% |
| 124 | Ukraine | 6.8% |
| 125 | Mali | 6.3% |
| 126 | Benin | 6.2% |
| 127 | Kyrgyzstan | 6.0% |
| 128 | Moldova, Republic of | 5.7% |
| 129 | Romania | 5.7% |
| 130 | Singapore | 5.5% |
| 131 | Bulgaria | 5.1% |
| 132 | India | 5.0% |
| 133 | Bangladesh | 4.7% |
| 134 | Saudi Arabia | 4.6% |
| 135 | Turkmenistan | 4.2% |
| 136 | Oman | 4.0% |
| 137 | Republic of The Gambia | 3.9% |
| 138 | Lebanon | 3.7% |
| 139 | Madagascar | 3.3% |
| 140 | Bahrain | 3.2% |
| 141 | Jordan | 3.0% |
| 142 | Brunei Darussalam | 2.9% |
| 143 | Syrian Arab Republic | 2.7% |
| 144 | Timor-Leste | 2.5% |
| 145 | Papua New Guinea | 2.0% |
| 146 | Armenia | 2.0% |
| 147 | El Salvador | 1.6% |
| 148 | Iraq | 1.5% |
| 149 | Suriname | 1.5% |
| 150 | Eritrea | 1.4% |
| 151 | Uruguay | 1.2% |
| 152 | Somalia | 0.8% |
| 153 | Mauritania | 0.7% |
| 154 | Kuwait | 0.5% |
| 155 | Eswatini | 0.5% |
| 156 | Afghanistan | 0.5% |
| 157 | Equatorial Guinea | 0.4% |
| 158 | Haiti | 0.4% |
| 159 | Djibouti | 0.2% |
| 160 | Comoros | 0.1% |
| 161 | Lesotho | 0.1% |
| 162 | Libya | 0.1% |
| 163 | Cayman Islands | 0.0% |
| 164 | Dominica | 0.0% |
| 165 | Mauritius | 0.0% |
| 166 | New Caledonia | 0.0% |
| 167 | Trinidad and Tobago | 0.0% |
| 168 | Bahamas | 0.0% |
| 169 | Bermuda | 0.0% |
| 170 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 0.0% |
Topics
Data Source
This data comes from UN SDG Global Database (UNSD) / UNEP-WCMC & IUCN (WDPA) (2022).
View Original Source