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    Protected Areas (Terrestrial)

    This metric is crucial for assessing global and national efforts towards environmental conservation, helping to track progress against international biodiversity targets, such as those set by the Convention on Biological Diversity, under which countries strive for 30% protected land area by 2030. Protected areas include national parks, nature reserves, and conservation areas that provide safe habitats for wildlife, maintain ecological processes, and offer places for research and recreation.

    Increasing the percentage of land under protection is a key strategy for combating habitat destruction, mitigating climate change, and preserving the natural landscapes essential for biodiversity. Countries use this metric to evaluate their conservation efficacy and plan future efforts to expand protected regions. However, the effectiveness of protected areas depends not only on the amount of land covered but also on the quality of management practices, the level of protection afforded, and the integration of local communities in conservation efforts.

    The higher the score, the better the country ranks for this parameter.

    The table is sorted from the highest score to the lowest:

    Rank Country Score Change
    1
    Algeria    		 100 N/A
    1
    Armenia    		 100 N/A
    1
    Bahamas    		 100 N/A
    1
    Belize    		 100 N/A
    1
    Bhutan    		 100 N/A
    1
    Brazil    		 100 N/A
    1
    Bulgaria    		 100 N/A
    1
    Cambodia    		 100 N/A
    1
    Comoros    		 100 N/A
    1
    Congo    		 100 N/A
    1
    Costa Rica    		 100 N/A
    1
    Croatia    		 100 N/A
    1
    Cyprus    		 100 N/A
    1
    Germany    		 100 N/A
    1
    Greece    		 100 N/A
    1
    Guatemala    		 100 N/A
    1
    Luxembourg    		 100 N/A
    1
    Morocco    		 100 N/A
    1
    Namibia    		 100 N/A
    1
    Nicaragua    		 100 N/A
    1
    Panama    		 100 N/A
    1
    Poland    		 100 N/A
    1
    Sao Tome and Principe    		 100 N/A
    1
    Saint Lucia    		 100 N/A
    1
    St. Vincent and the Grenadines    		 100 N/A
    1
    Seychelles    		 100 N/A
    1
    Slovakia    		 100 N/A
    1
    Slovenia    		 100 N/A
    1
    Sri Lanka    		 100 N/A
    1
    Tanzania    		 100 N/A
    1
    Venezuela    		 100 N/A
    1
    Zambia    		 100 N/A
    1
    New Zealand    		 100 N/A
    34
    Austria    		 99 N/A
    35
    Denmark    		 99 N/A
    36
    Botswana    		 98 N/A
    37
    Mozambique    		 98 N/A
    38
    Trinidad and Tobago    		 96 N/A
    39
    Colombia    		 95 N/A
    40
    North Macedonia    		 95 N/A
    41
    France    		 94 N/A
    42
    Spain    		 94 N/A
    43
    Chile    		 93 N/A
    44
    Honduras    		 93 N/A
    45
    Zimbabwe    		 93 N/A
    46
    Guinea-Bissau    		 91 N/A
    47
    Senegal    		 88 N/A
    48
    United Kingdom    		 88 N/A
    49
    Norway    		 87 N/A
    50
    Guinea    		 86 N/A
    51
    Malta    		 86 N/A
    52
    Dominican Republic    		 85 N/A
    53
    Antigua and Barbuda    		 84 N/A
    54
    Netherlands    		 83 N/A
    55
    Bolivia    		 79 N/A
    56
    Benin    		 78 N/A
    57
    Dominica    		 77 N/A
    58
    Ecuador    		 77 N/A
    59
    Saudi Arabia    		 77 N/A
    60
    Australia    		 76 N/A
    61
    Montenegro    		 76 N/A
    62
    Romania    		 76 N/A
    63
    Nepal    		 76 N/A
    64
    Hungary    		 75 N/A
    65
    Lesotho    		 75 N/A
    66
    Albania    		 74 N/A
    67
    Czech republic    		 74 N/A
    68
    Portugal    		 74 N/A
    69
    Ivory Coast    		 73 N/A
    70
    Oman    		 73 N/A
    71
    Tajikistan    		 73 N/A
    72
    Azerbaijan    		 72 N/A
    73
    Israel    		 72 N/A
    74 Italy 72 N/A
    75
    Gabon    		 71 N/A
    76
    Qatar    		 71 N/A
    77
    Ethiopia    		 70 N/A
    78
    Georgia    		 70 N/A
    79
    Japan    		 70 N/A
    80
    Estonia    		 68 N/A
    81
    Iceland    		 68 N/A
    82
    Kuwait    		 68 N/A
    83
    Thailand    		 68 N/A
    84
    Jamaica    		 67 N/A
    85
    Peru    		 66 N/A
    86
    Brunei    		 65 N/A
    87
    Grenada    		 65 N/A
    88
    Mongolia    		 65 N/A
    89
    Taiwan    		 65 N/A
    90
    United Arab Emirates    		 64 N/A
    91
    El Salvador    		 63 N/A
    92
    Equatorial Guinea    		 63 N/A
    93
    Laos    		 63 N/A
    94
    Malawi    		 63 N/A
    95
    South Korea    		 63 N/A
    96
    Latvia    		 61 N/A
    97
    Egypt    		 60 N/A
    98
    Eswatini    		 60 N/A
    99
    Lithuania    		 60 N/A
    100
    Central Af. Rep.    		 58 N/A
    101
    Cuba    		 58 N/A
    102
    Niger    		 57 N/A
    103
    Cape Verde    		 56 N/A
    104
    Belgium    		 55 N/A
    105
    Burkina Faso    		 55 N/A
    106
    Philippines    		 55 N/A
    107
    Ukraine    		 54 N/A
    108
    South Africa    		 54 N/A
    109
    Suriname    		 54 N/A
    110
    Kenya    		 53 N/A
    111
    Ghana    		 52 N/A
    112
    Sweden    		 52 N/A
    113
    Vietnam    		 52 N/A
    114
    DR Congo    		 51 N/A
    115
    East Timor    		 51 N/A
    116
    Paraguay    		 50 N/A
    117
    Uganda    		 50 N/A
    118
    Madagascar    		 49 N/A
    119
    Mexico    		 49 N/A
    120
    Chad    		 48 N/A
    121
    Eritrea    		 47 N/A
    122
    Ireland    		 47 N/A
    123
    Canada    		 46 N/A
    124
    Finland    		 45 N/A
    125
    Sierra Leone    		 45 N/A
    126
    Nigeria    		 44 N/A
    127
    Malaysia    		 43 N/A
    128
    United States    		 43 N/A
    129
    Switzerland    		 43 N/A
    130
    Togo    		 42 N/A
    131
    Cameroon    		 40 N/A
    132
    Indonesia    		 40 N/A
    133
    Angola    		 39 N/A
    134
    Russia    		 39 N/A
    135
    Serbia    		 39 N/A
    136
    Liberia    		 38 N/A
    137
    Argentina    		 35 N/A
    138
    Bosnia and Herz.    		 34 N/A
    139
    Pakistan    		 32 N/A
    140
    Rwanda    		 32 N/A
    141
    Tonga    		 32 N/A
    142
    Kazakhstan    		 31 N/A
    143
    Belarus    		 30 N/A
    144
    Guyana    		 29 N/A
    145
    Afghanistan    		 28 N/A
    146
    Haiti    		 28 N/A
    147
    Moldova    		 28 N/A
    148
    Uzbekistan    		 28 N/A
    149
    Gambia    		 27 N/A
    150
    Iran    		 27 N/A
    151
    Mali    		 27 N/A
    152
    Jordan    		 27 N/A
    153
    Uruguay    		 27 N/A
    154
    Tunisia    		 26 N/A
    155
    Kyrgyztan    		 22 N/A
    156
    Myanmar    		 22 N/A
    157
    Samoa    		 22 N/A
    158
    Singapore    		 21 N/A
    159
    Turkmenistan    		 20 N/A
    160
    Lebanon    		 19 N/A
    161
    Burundi    		 16 N/A
    162
    Bangladesh    		 15 N/A
    163
    Iraq    		 14 N/A
    164
    Mauritius    		 14 N/A
    165
    Fiji    		 13 N/A
    166
    Papua New Guinea    		 13 N/A
    167
    Vanuatu    		 13 N/A
    168
    Barbados    		 8 N/A
    169
    Solomon Islands    		 7 N/A
    170
    China    		 6 N/A
    171
    Djibouti    		 5 N/A
    172
    Marshall Islands    		 4 N/A
    173
    Maldives    		 3 N/A
    174
    India    		 2 N/A
    175
    Mauritania    		 2 N/A
    176
    Sudan    		 2 N/A
    177
    Turkey    		 1 N/A
    178
    Bahrain    		 0 N/A
    178
    Kiribati    		 0 N/A
    178
    Micronesia    		 0 N/A

    Source and Calculation

    Protected Area shapefiles are sourced from the World Database on Protected Areas through Protected Planet. The percentage of each country’s terrestrial and/or freshwater area that is covered by at least one Protected Area is then calculated. A maximum score is awarded to a country that has met the 30% target.

    *Different sources offer varying data, as datasets may be subject to changes due to recent updates and revisions.