Share of forest area within protected areas in Switzerland
Switzerland: Share of forest area within protected areas was 17.7% in 2020. ▬ Flat
Latest (2020)
17.7%
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
101st
of 197 countries
All-time high
17.7%
in 2015
All-time low
17.7%
in 2015
Years of data
6
2015–2020
Share of forest area within protected areas in Switzerland, 2015–2020
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Switzerland recorded 17.7% for share of forest area within protected areas in 2020. That is the highest value across all 6 years on record.
That represents a change of unchanged over ten years.
That places Switzerland 101st out of 197 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the middle of the range.
Share of forest area within protected areas in Switzerland, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 17.7% | — |
| 2016 | 17.7% | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 17.7% | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 17.7% | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 17.7% | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 17.7% | +0.0% |
Switzerland compared with similar countries
- Switzerland's 17.7% is above the median for high income countries, which is 16.0%, 1.1× the median. (69 countries reporting)
- Switzerland's 17.7% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 22.7%, 78% of the median. (44 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 17.7% | 17.7% | 17.7% | 5 |
| 2020s | 17.7% | 17.7% | 17.7% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Switzerland
More environment data for Switzerland
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -0.2925 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -0.4333 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.458 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 2.33 °C (2025)
- Wood-based panels — Production, annual growth rate 11.97 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.2741 % 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 0.0914 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of forest area within protected areas in Switzerland?
- Share of forest area within protected areas in Switzerland was 17.7% in 2020, 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 Switzerland?
- The highest recorded value was 17.7% in 2015.
- What is the lowest share of forest area within protected areas recorded in Switzerland?
- The lowest recorded value was 17.7% in 2015.
- How does Switzerland rank for share of forest area within protected areas?
- Switzerland ranks 101st out of 197 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of forest area within protected areas rising or falling in Switzerland?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this Switzerland 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 — 6 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 (%).