Statizoid

Terrestrial protected areas (sq. km) by country

Nationally protected areas are totally or partially protected areas of at least 1,000 hectares that are designated as scientific reserves with limited public access, national parks, natural monuments, nature reserves or wildlife sanctuaries, protected landscapes, and areas managed mainly for sustainable use. Marine...

Countries reporting
50
Highest
271,275 sq. km
Zambia
Lowest
0 sq. km
Comoros
Median
31,248 sq. km
Years covered
21
1990–2010
Data points
1,170

What the numbers show

Terrestrial protected areas (sq. km) is currently reported for 50 countries. The highest value is 271,275 sq. km in Zambia; the lowest is 0 sq. km in Comoros.

The median across all reporting countries is 31,248 sq. km, and the mean is 61,275 sq. km.

Terrestrial protected areas: full country ranking

#Country LatestYear 10-year changeTrend
1 Zambia 271,275 sq. km 2010 up 0.0% flat
2 Tanzania 260,821 sq. km 2010 up 2.0% flat
3 Democratic Republic of Congo 234,193 sq. km 2010 up 0.0% flat
4 Ethiopia 203,173 sq. km 2010 up 3.9% flat
5 Botswana 179,951 sq. km 2010 up 0.0% flat
6 Angola 154,589 sq. km 2010 unchanged flat
7 Algeria 150,248 sq. km 2010 up 0.0% flat
8 Mozambique 126,521 sq. km 2010 up 6.8% rising
9 Namibia 123,127 sq. km 2010 up 3.3% flat
10 Chad 120,514 sq. km 2010 unchanged flat
11 Nigeria 118,657 sq. km 2010 unchanged flat
12 Central African Republic 110,544 sq. km 2010 unchanged flat
13 Zimbabwe 109,447 sq. km 2010 up 55.2% rising
14 Sudan 105,798 sq. km 2010 up 0.0% flat
15 Niger 89,568 sq. km 2010 unchanged flat
16 South Africa 84,129 sq. km 2010 up 0.0% flat
17 Cote d'Ivoire 72,844 sq. km 2010 up 0.0% flat
18 Kenya 68,231 sq. km 2010 up 0.0% flat
19 Egypt 58,942 sq. km 2010 up 37.2% rising
20 Senegal 47,388 sq. km 2010 up 0.1% flat
21 Cameroon 43,522 sq. km 2010 up 5.5% rising
22 Gabon 40,520 sq. km 2010 up 165.6% volatile
23 Burkina Faso 39,058 sq. km 2010 up 2.9% rising
24 Ghana 34,996 sq. km 2010 unchanged flat
25 Congo 32,311 sq. km 2010 up 21.0% rising
26 Mali 30,185 sq. km 2010 up 4.1% rising
27 Benin 27,321 sq. km 2010 unchanged flat
28 Uganda 24,785 sq. km 2010 up 20.5% rising
29 Madagascar 17,956 sq. km 2010 up 0.0% rising
30 Malawi 17,793 sq. km 2010 unchanged flat
31 Guinea 16,658 sq. km 2010 up 0.0% flat
32 Morocco 6,918 sq. km 2010 up 0.0% rising
33 Togo 6,393 sq. km 2010 unchanged flat
34 Eritrea 5,835 sq. km 2010 up 1.8% flat
35 Guinea-Bissau 5,801 sq. km 2010 unchanged rising
36 Mauritania 5,528 sq. km 2010 unchanged flat
37 Equatorial Guinea 5,375 sq. km 2010 up 0.0% rising
38 Sierra Leone 3,551 sq. km 2010 unchanged flat
39 Rwanda 2,630 sq. km 2010 up 1.0% flat
40 Tunisia 2,121 sq. km 2009 up 0.0% flat
41 Liberia 1,975 sq. km 2010 up 8.6% rising
42 Burundi 1,350 sq. km 2010 unchanged rising
43 Eswatini 524.01 sq. km 2010 unchanged flat
44 Seychelles 193.3 sq. km 2010 unchanged flat
45 Gambia 173.13 sq. km 2010 unchanged flat
46 Lesotho 147.35 sq. km 2010 unchanged flat
47 Cape Verde 99.5 sq. km 2010 unchanged flat
48 Mauritius 91.43 sq. km 2010 unchanged rising
49 Djibouti 0.5981 sq. km 2009 up 0.2% flat
50 Comoros 0 sq. km 2009 — flat

Regions and income groups

Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.

About this data

Indicator
Terrestrial protected areas (sq. km)
Unit
sq. km
Source
United Nations Environmental Program and the World Conservation Monitoring Centre, as compiled by the World Resources Institute, based on data from national authorities, national legislation and inter
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
56 places, 1,170 data points, 1990–2010
Last refreshed

Nationally protected areas are totally or partially protected areas of at least 1,000 hectares that are designated as scientific reserves with limited public access, national parks, natural monuments, nature reserves or wildlife sanctuaries, protected landscapes, and areas managed mainly for sustainable use. Marine areas, unclassified areas, and litoral (intertidal) areas are not included. The data also do not include sites protected under local or provincial law.