⚠️ Unconfirmedenvironmental2024

Share of territory designated as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve (core+buffer+transition)

Name: Share of territory designated as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve (core+buffer+transition)
Creator: UNESCO Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme
Keywords: statistic-of-the-day, ai-generated, UNESCO, biosphere reserves, protected areas, biodiversity, conservation, sustainable development, land use

Percent of each country’s land area that lies within UNESCO Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme Biosphere Reserves (latest list, 2024).

Source: UNESCO Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme•179 countries

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Key Insights

Global Average

0.8%

Median: 0.1%

Countries Covered

179

with available data

Highest

Spain

9.4%

Lowest

Solomon Islands

0.0%

Top 5 Countries

1Spain9.4%

2France6.8%

3Barbados6.2%

4Portugal6.1%

5Belgium5.7%

By Region

Europe2.5%(32 countries)

South America2.5%(7 countries)

North America1.1%(4 countries)

Oceania0.6%(2 countries)

Africa0.4%(9 countries)

Key Findings

•Biosphere Reserve coverage varies widely: many countries have none, while some European countries have sizable shares due to multiple reserves and smaller land areas.
•High shares tend to cluster in countries with long-running UNESCO MAB participation and strong regional conservation planning.
•Because Biosphere Reserves include transition areas (not only strictly protected cores), this indicator captures ‘managed landscapes’ as well as traditional protected areas.

Country Rankings

Top 10 Countries

Bottom 10 Countries

Data Analysis

Value Distribution

How countries are distributed across the value range

Low (0.0%)High (35.4%)

Regional Comparison

Average values by world region (Global avg: 0.8%)

Europe (32)

South America (7)

North America (4)

Oceania (2)

Africa (9)

Other (100)

Asia (25)

About This Statistic

UNESCO Biosphere Reserves are internationally recognized sites under the Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme that aim to reconcile biodiversity conservation with sustainable use. Each reserve typically includes a legally protected core area, a buffer zone, and a transition area where communities and sustainable economic activities occur.

This statistic measures how much of a country’s land area falls within the boundaries of its designated UNESCO Biosphere Reserves (sum of areas of all reserves in the country) divided by the country’s total land area. It highlights countries that have used the MAB framework extensively as part of their conservation-and-development strategy. Because many reserves are transboundary and because reported site areas can be revised, values should be treated as best-available approximations based on UNESCO’s official site list and reported areas.

Full Data

Rank ↑	Country ↕	Value ↕
1	Spain	9.4%
2	France	6.8%
3	Barbados	6.2%
4	Portugal	6.1%
5	Belgium	5.7%
6	Greece	5.2%
7	Costa Rica	4.9%
8	Argentina	4.5%
9	Italy	4.4%
10	Denmark	4.0%
11	Chile	3.8%
12	Estonia	3.6%
13	Uruguay	3.5%
14	Netherlands	3.3%
15	Austria	3.1%
16	Hungary	2.9%
17	Panama	2.8%
18	Honduras	2.7%
19	Bolivia	2.6%
20	Germany	2.5%
21	Czech Republic	2.4%
22	Morocco	2.4%
23	Ecuador	2.2%
24	Mexico	2.1%
25	Andorra	2.1%
26	Georgia	2.0%
27	Slovenia	2.0%
28	Switzerland	2.0%
29	Nicaragua	1.9%
30	Türkiye	1.9%
31	United Kingdom	1.9%
32	Belize	1.9%
33	Armenia	1.8%
34	Croatia	1.7%
35	Peru	1.7%
36	Lithuania	1.6%
37	Slovakia	1.6%
38	Albania	1.4%
39	Belarus	1.3%
40	Poland	1.3%
41	Sweden	1.3%
42	Colombia	1.2%
43	Ukraine	1.2%
44	Guatemala	1.1%
45	Sri Lanka	1.0%
46	Romania	1.0%
47	Cuba	0.9%
48	Finland	0.9%
49	Japan	0.9%
50	Latvia	0.9%
51	Norway	0.9%
52	Serbia	0.9%
53	Australia	0.9%
54	People's Republic of China	0.8%
55	Ireland	0.8%
56	Nepal	0.8%
57	United States of America	0.7%
58	Afghanistan	0.7%
59	El Salvador	0.6%
60	Venezuela	0.6%
61	Canada	0.5%
62	India	0.5%
63	South Korea	0.5%
64	Moldova, Republic of	0.5%
65	Bangladesh	0.5%
66	Madagascar	0.4%
67	Thailand	0.4%
68	Tunisia	0.4%
69	Brazil	0.4%
70	Indonesia	0.3%
71	Kenya	0.3%
72	Philippines	0.3%
73	South Africa	0.3%
74	Algeria	0.3%
75	Bulgaria	0.2%
76	Cameroon	0.2%
77	Islamic Republic of Iran	0.2%
78	Kazakhstan	0.2%
79	Kyrgyzstan	0.2%
80	Malaysia	0.2%
81	New Zealand	0.2%
82	Nigeria	0.2%
83	Pakistan	0.2%
84	Vietnam	0.2%
85	Angola	0.2%
86	Cambodia	0.1%
87	Democratic Republic of the Congo	0.1%
88	Mongolia	0.1%
89	Paraguay	0.1%
90	Russian Federation	0.1%
91	Uganda	0.1%
92	Brunei Darussalam	0.1%
93	Myanmar	0.0%
94	Burundi	0.0%
95	Cape Verde	0.0%
96	Cayman Islands	0.0%
97	Central African Republic	0.0%
98	Chad	0.0%
99	Comoros	0.0%
100	Republic of the Congo	0.0%
101	Cyprus	0.0%
102	Benin	0.0%
103	Dominica	0.0%
104	Dominican Republic	0.0%
105	Equatorial Guinea	0.0%
106	Ethiopia	0.0%
107	Eritrea	0.0%
108	Fiji	0.0%
109	Djibouti	0.0%
110	Gabon	0.0%
111	Republic of The Gambia	0.0%
112	State of Palestine	0.0%
113	Ghana	0.0%
114	Guinea	0.0%
115	Guyana	0.0%
116	Haiti	0.0%
117	Iceland	0.0%
118	Iraq	0.0%
119	Israel	0.0%
120	Cote d'Ivoire	0.0%
121	Jordan	0.0%
122	North Korea	0.0%
123	Kuwait	0.0%
124	Lao People's Democratic Republic	0.0%
125	Lebanon	0.0%
126	Lesotho	0.0%
127	Liberia	0.0%
128	Libya	0.0%
129	Luxembourg	0.0%
130	Malawi	0.0%
131	Maldives	0.0%
132	Mali	0.0%
133	Malta	0.0%
134	Mauritania	0.0%
135	Mauritius	0.0%
136	Monaco	0.0%
137	Montenegro	0.0%
138	Montserrat	0.0%
139	Mozambique	0.0%
140	Oman	0.0%
141	Namibia	0.0%
142	New Caledonia	0.0%
143	Vanuatu	0.0%
144	Niger	0.0%
145	Papua New Guinea	0.0%
146	Guinea-Bissau	0.0%
147	Timor-Leste	0.0%
148	Qatar	0.0%
149	Rwanda	0.0%
150	Saudi Arabia	0.0%
151	Senegal	0.0%
152	Seychelles	0.0%
153	Sierra Leone	0.0%
154	Singapore	0.0%
155	Somalia	0.0%
156	Zimbabwe	0.0%
157	South Sudan	0.0%
158	Sudan	0.0%
159	Suriname	0.0%
160	Eswatini	0.0%
161	Syrian Arab Republic	0.0%
162	Tajikistan	0.0%
163	Togo	0.0%
164	Trinidad and Tobago	0.0%
165	United Arab Emirates	0.0%
166	Turkmenistan	0.0%
167	The Republic of North Macedonia	0.0%
168	Egypt	0.0%
169	United Republic of Tanzania	0.0%
170	Burkina Faso	0.0%
171	Uzbekistan	0.0%
172	Samoa	0.0%
173	Yemen	0.0%
174	Zambia	0.0%
175	Bahrain	0.0%
176	Bhutan	0.0%
177	Bosnia and Herzegovina	0.0%
178	Botswana	0.0%
179	Solomon Islands	0.0%

Showing 179 of 179 countries

Topics

#statistic-of-the-day #ai-generated #UNESCO #biosphere reserves #protected areas #biodiversity #conservation #sustainable development #land use

Data Source

This data comes from UNESCO Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme (2024).

View Original Source