Proportion of forest area within legally established protected areas in United States

United States: Proportion of forest area within legally established protected areas was 10.23 in 2020. β–² Rising

Latest (2020)
10.23
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
111th
of 156 countries
All-time high
10.23
in 2016
All-time low
6.71
in 2000
Years of data
8
2000–2020

Proportion of forest area within legally established protected areas in United States, 2000–2020

02.557.5102000201020202000: 6.72010: 9.82015: 9.62016: 10.22017: 10.22018: 10.22019: 10.22020: 10.2

Source: Our World in Data.

Analysis

United States recorded 10.23 for proportion of forest area within legally established protected areas in 2020. That is the highest value across all 8 years on record.

That represents a change of up 4.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, proportion of forest area within legally established protected areas in United States peaked at 10.23 in 2016 and was at its lowest, 6.71, in 2000.

That places United States 111th out of 156 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the middle of the range.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 6.71 6.71 6.71 1
2010s 10.04 9.6 10.23 6
2020s 10.23 10.23 10.23 1

Countries ranked near United States

  1. 108 Tunisia 10.84 compare
  2. 109 Botswana 10.81 compare
  3. 109 New Caledonia 10.81 compare
  4. 112 Montenegro 10.15 compare
  5. 113 Cyprus 10.05 compare
  6. 114 Eritrea 9.99 compare

See the full ranking of 157 places β†’

More environment data for United States

All data for United States β†’

Frequently asked questions

What is proportion of forest area within legally established protected areas in United States?
Proportion of forest area within legally established protected areas in United States was 10.23 in 2020, according to Our World in Data.
What is the highest proportion of forest area within legally established protected areas recorded in United States?
The highest recorded value was 10.23 in 2016.
What is the lowest proportion of forest area within legally established protected areas recorded in United States?
The lowest recorded value was 6.71 in 2000.
How does United States rank for proportion of forest area within legally established protected areas?
United States ranks 111th out of 156 countries with data for 2020.
Is proportion of forest area within legally established protected areas rising or falling in United States?
Over the last ten years it is up 4.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this United States data come from?
The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Proportion of forest area within legally established protected areas. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV Β· JSON β€” 8 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Proportion of forest area within legally established protected areas in United States. Statizoid, drawing on Our World in Data. Retrieved 20 August 2026, from https://environment.statizoid.com/stat/proportion-of-forest-area-within-legally-established-protected-areas/united-states/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://environment.statizoid.com/stat/proportion-of-forest-area-within-legally-established-protected-areas/united-states/">Proportion of forest area within legally established protected areas in United States</a> β€” Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Proportion of forest area within legally established protected areas
Source
Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
157 places, 1,208 data points, 2000–2020
Last refreshed