Share of forest area within protected areas in Canada
Canada: Share of forest area within protected areas was 9.8% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Share of forest area within protected areas in Canada, 1990–2025
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2025, share of forest area within protected areas in Canada stood at 9.8%. That is the highest value across all 10 years on record.
That represents a change of up 14.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of forest area within protected areas in Canada peaked at 9.8% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 3.8%, in 1990.
Canada ranks 139th of 197 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 10 years of available data.
Share of forest area within protected areas in Canada, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 3.8% | — |
| 2000 | 5.1% | +36.5% |
| 2010 | 8.1% | +57.4% |
| 2015 | 8.5% | +5.5% |
| 2016 | 8.5% | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 8.5% | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 8.5% | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 8.5% | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 8.6% | +0.7% |
| 2025 | 9.8% | +13.9% |
Canada compared with similar countries
- Canada's 9.8% is below the median for high income countries, which is 16.0%, 61% of the median. (69 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 3.8% | 3.8% | 3.8% | 1 |
| 2000s | 5.1% | 5.1% | 5.1% | 1 |
| 2010s | 8.4% | 8.1% | 8.5% | 6 |
| 2020s | 9.2% | 8.6% | 9.8% | 2 |
Countries ranked near Canada
- 136 Montenegro 10.2% compare
- 137 Cyprus 10.1% compare
- 138 United States 10.0% compare
- 140 Tajikistan 9.2% compare
- 141 United Kingdom 9.2% compare
- 142 Brazil 9.1% compare
- 142 Tunisia 9.1% compare
More environment data for Canada
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -2.52 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -6.76 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.642 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 2.96 °C (2025)
- Wood-based panels — Production, annual growth rate 2.9 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 1.7 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), annual growth rate -0.3398 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of forest area within protected areas in Canada?
- Share of forest area within protected areas in Canada was 9.8% in 2025, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of forest area within protected areas recorded in Canada?
- The highest recorded value was 9.8% in 2025.
- What is the lowest share of forest area within protected areas recorded in Canada?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.8% in 1990.
- How does Canada rank for share of forest area within protected areas?
- Canada ranks 139th out of 197 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of forest area within protected areas rising or falling in Canada?
- Over the last ten years it is up 14.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Canada data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of forest area within protected areas. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 10 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Proportion of forest area within legally established protected areas (%).