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Countries by Protected Land Area

Terrestrial protected areas as a share of total land area.

211 of 240 countries and territories have a published value for this indicator.

#1 Seychelles
68.1% of land area
Africa
World Bank, 2025
#2 New Caledonia
59.6% of land area
Oceania
World Bank, 2025
#3 Venezuela
56.8% of land area
South America
World Bank, 2025
Median country
17.1% of land area
Across 211 ranked countries

Full Ranking (211 Countries)

Countries with no published value are excluded rather than ranked last. Sort any column, filter by continent, or export as CSV.

211 countries
Values are the most recent published observation per country, so the year varies. The trend column shows each country's population from 1950 to 2025 (top 25 rows only, to keep the page light) — it is context, not the ranked measure.
1Seychelles68.1% of land area
2New Caledonia59.6% of land area
3Venezuela56.8% of land area
4Bhutan51.6% of land area
5Liechtenstein44.8% of land area
6Bulgaria44.3% of land area
7Turks and Caicos43.5% of land area
8Guinea42.6% of land area
9Hong Kong42.0% of land area
10Greenland41.9% of land area
11Zambia41.3% of land area
12Slovenia40.4% of land area
13Tanzania39.9% of land area
13Namibia39.9% of land area
13Brunei39.9% of land area
16Cambodia39.8% of land area
17Poland39.6% of land area
18Germany39.2% of land area
19Luxembourg39.1% of land area
20Armenia38.9% of land area
21Cyprus38.6% of land area
22Croatia38.4% of land area
23Slovakia37.5% of land area
24Belize37.3% of land area
25Congo36.6% of land area
26Benin36.1% of land area
27Greece35.0% of land area
28Bahamas34.6% of land area
29Comoros33.7% of land area
30New Zealand33.4% of land area
31Sao Tome and Principe31.7% of land area
32Panama31.4% of land area
32Palau31.4% of land area
34Bolivia30.9% of land area
35Sri Lanka30.8% of land area
36Brazil30.6% of land area
36Trinidad and Tobago30.6% of land area
38Japan29.7% of land area
39Austria29.6% of land area
40Mozambique29.5% of land area
41North Macedonia29.0% of land area
41Malta29.0% of land area
43Oman28.9% of land area
44France28.8% of land area
45United Kingdom28.4% of land area
46Zimbabwe28.3% of land area
47Spain28.1% of land area
48Togo27.9% of land area
49Israel27.6% of land area
49Botswana27.6% of land area
51Senegal27.5% of land area
52Andorra27.3% of land area
53Gibraltar27.0% of land area
54Aruba26.9% of land area
55Costa Rica26.6% of land area
56Dominican Republic26.3% of land area
57Guinea-Bissau26.2% of land area
58Romania24.6% of land area
59Ecuador23.8% of land area
60Nepal23.6% of land area
60Albania23.6% of land area
62Lesotho23.4% of land area
63Malawi23.1% of land area
64Honduras23.0% of land area
64Portugal23.0% of land area
66Ivory Coast22.9% of land area
66Netherlands22.9% of land area
66Kiribati22.9% of land area
69Georgia22.8% of land area
70Tajikistan22.6% of land area
70Gabon22.6% of land area
70Saint Vincent22.6% of land area
73Hungary22.3% of land area
74Montenegro22.2% of land area
75Peru22.1% of land area
75Azerbaijan22.1% of land area
77Australia22.0% of land area
78Czech Republic21.9% of land area
79Chile21.6% of land area
79Estonia21.6% of land area
81Italy21.5% of land area
82Dominica21.4% of land area
83Nicaragua21.2% of land area
84Niger21.0% of land area
84Chad21.0% of land area
86Iceland20.9% of land area
86Monaco20.9% of land area
88Tuvalu20.2% of land area
89Guatemala20.1% of land area
90Jamaica19.9% of land area
91Mongolia19.8% of land area
92United Arab Emirates19.2% of land area
93Pakistan19.1% of land area
94Equatorial Guinea19.0% of land area
95Laos18.8% of land area
95Latvia18.8% of land area
97Saudi Arabia18.5% of land area
98Thailand18.4% of land area
99Saint Lucia18.2% of land area
100Lithuania18.0% of land area
101Norway17.8% of land area
102South Korea17.7% of land area
103Cape Verde17.6% of land area
104Colombia17.2% of land area
105Ukraine17.1% of land area
105Kuwait17.1% of land area
107Ethiopia17.0% of land area
108Burkina Faso16.8% of land area
109Curaçao16.5% of land area
109Antigua and Barbuda16.5% of land area
111Belgium16.4% of land area
111Denmark16.4% of land area
111American Samoa16.4% of land area
114Uganda16.1% of land area
114Timor-Leste16.1% of land area
114Marshall Islands16.1% of land area
117Philippines16.0% of land area
118Sweden15.8% of land area
119China15.6% of land area
119Cuba15.6% of land area
119Qatar15.6% of land area
122South Sudan15.4% of land area
123Mexico15.3% of land area
123Ghana15.3% of land area
125DR Congo14.9% of land area
125Paraguay14.9% of land area
127Central African Republic14.8% of land area
127Suriname14.8% of land area
129Ireland14.2% of land area
130Uzbekistan14.1% of land area
131Serbia14.0% of land area
132Nigeria13.9% of land area
132Kenya13.9% of land area
132Finland13.9% of land area
135Malaysia13.3% of land area
135U.S. Virgin Islands13.3% of land area
135Tonga13.3% of land area
138Egypt13.1% of land area
139Lebanon13.0% of land area
140United States12.9% of land area
140Canada12.9% of land area
142Madagascar12.8% of land area
143Sierra Leone12.6% of land area
144Switzerland12.5% of land area
145Indonesia12.0% of land area
146Bahrain11.7% of land area
147Russia11.5% of land area
147Moldova11.5% of land area
149Cameroon11.0% of land area
150Angola10.8% of land area
151British Virgin Islands10.5% of land area
152Kazakhstan10.1% of land area
153State of Palestine10.0% of land area
154South Africa9.6% of land area
155Bosnia and Herzegovina9.5% of land area
156Belarus9.2% of land area
157Rwanda9.1% of land area
158Argentina8.8% of land area
158Grenada8.8% of land area
158Cayman Islands8.8% of land area
161Haiti8.6% of land area
162Guyana8.4% of land area
163El Salvador8.3% of land area
164Tunisia7.9% of land area
164Samoa7.9% of land area
166Iran7.8% of land area
167India7.7% of land area
167Gambia7.7% of land area
169Vietnam7.6% of land area
169Burundi7.6% of land area
171Mali7.5% of land area
172Turkey7.0% of land area
173Kyrgyzstan6.8% of land area
174Myanmar6.7% of land area
175Puerto Rico6.6% of land area
176French Polynesia5.6% of land area
177Jordan5.4% of land area
178Mauritius5.0% of land area
179Vanuatu4.8% of land area
180Algeria4.7% of land area
181Singapore4.6% of land area
181Isle of Man4.6% of land area
183Turkmenistan4.3% of land area
184Bangladesh4.2% of land area
184Eswatini4.2% of land area
184Guam4.2% of land area
187Liberia4.0% of land area
188Fiji3.9% of land area
189Papua New Guinea3.7% of land area
190Afghanistan3.6% of land area
191Uruguay3.1% of land area
192Maldives3.0% of land area
193Sudan2.8% of land area
193Northern Mariana Islands2.8% of land area
195North Korea2.4% of land area
195Solomon Islands2.4% of land area
195Faroe Islands2.4% of land area
198Bermuda2.3% of land area
199Morocco2.1% of land area
200Djibouti1.6% of land area
201Iraq1.5% of land area
202Yemen1.1% of land area
202Barbados1.1% of land area
204Syria0.7% of land area
205Mauritania0.6% of land area
206Libya0.1% of land area
206Sint Maarten0.1% of land area
208Somalia0.0% of land area
208Eritrea0.0% of land area
208Micronesia0.0% of land area
208Nauru0.0% of land area

Top 10

The ten highest-ranked countries by protected areas.

  1. Seychelles68.1%
  2. New Caledonia59.6%
  3. Venezuela56.8%
  4. Bhutan51.6%
  5. Liechtenstein44.8%
  6. Bulgaria44.3%
  7. Turks and Caicos43.5%
  8. Guinea42.6%
  9. Hong Kong42.0%
  10. Greenland41.9%
Top ten countries by protected areas
NameProtected Areas
Seychelles68.1%
New Caledonia59.6%
Venezuela56.8%
Bhutan51.6%
Liechtenstein44.8%
Bulgaria44.3%
Turks and Caicos43.5%
Guinea42.6%
Hong Kong42.0%
Greenland41.9%

By Continent

Mean of country values within each continent — an unweighted average, so a small country counts the same as a large one.

Average protected areas by continent
NameValueShare
Europe2421.1%
South America2118.7%
North America1916.8%
Africa1816.1%
Asia1614.6%
Oceania1412.7%

Average by continent

About This Data

Definition

Terrestrial protected areas as a share of total land area.

Coverage and vintage

211 of 240 countries and territories report this indicator. Each value is the latest published observation for that country — the year column shows which. The leading value is World Bank, 2025.