Country leaderboard

Countries by Protected Land (%)

Complete ranking of 213 countries • % • Data refreshed May 28, 2026

Leader

Seychelles

Field size

213 countries

Lowest rank

Somalia

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Metric Briefing World Map

Seychelles leads all 213 countries in Protected Areas Share with a value of 68.1%, while Somalia ranks last at 0%. The gap between top and bottom reflects meaningful global variation.

What Protected Areas Share Measures

Protected Areas % from World Bank Open Data, using the latest available country values in TerraBrawl.

Why This Ranking Matters

Examining Protected Areas Share across all countries reveals patterns that might not be obvious at the national level. Regional clusters, outlier nations, and historical trajectories all become clearer when the full global picture is assembled in a single ranking.

Global Range

Values range from 0% (Somalia) to 68.1% (Seychelles) — an infinitely large difference across 213 countries.

Regional Patterns

European countries lead with 8 entries in the top 20, though representation spans multiple continents. Regional factors clearly play a role, but outliers from other parts of the world show that national policy and geography matter as much as continental trends.

Values are broadly distributed across countries, with the middle 50% ranging from 8.80% to 26.2%. The overall spread from 0% to 68.1% reflects significant global variation.

Notable Outliers

The top of the ranking is competitive: Seychelles and New Caledonia are separated by only 14%, indicating that the leading positions could shift with updated data.

Continental Leaders

Africa

Seychelles

68.1%

Oceania

New Caledonia

59.6%

North America

Venezuela

56.8%

Asia

Bhutan

51.6%

Europe

Liechtenstein

44.8%

South America

Bolivia

30.9%

Highest Protected Areas Share

The 5 strongest Protected Areas Share reads.

Seychelles68.1%New Caledonia59.6%Venezuela56.8%Bhutan51.6%Liechtenstein44.8%

Lowest Protected Areas Share

The 5 lowest Protected Areas Share reads.

Somalia0%Nauru0%Micronesia0%Eritrea0%Libya0.10%

Data Note

Rankings are based on the latest available data from World Bank Open Data, covering 213 of 249 countries and territories. Countries without data for this metric are excluded from the ranking. All values represent the most recently reported figures.

Top 10 Countries

1stSeychelles68.1%

2ndNew Caledonia59.6%

3rdVenezuela56.8%

4thBhutan51.6%

5thLiechtenstein44.8%

6thBulgaria44.3%

7thTurks and Caicos Islands43.5%

8thHong Kong42%

9thGreenland41.9%

10thZambia41.3%

Country Ladder

1stSeychellesAfrica68.1%2ndNew CaledoniaOceania59.6%3rdVenezuelaNorth America56.8%4thBhutanAsia51.6%5thLiechtensteinEurope44.8%6thBulgariaEurope44.3%7thTurks and Caicos IslandsNorth America43.5%8thHong KongAsia42%9thGreenlandNorth America41.9%10thZambiaAfrica41.3%11thSloveniaEurope40.5%12thTanzaniaAfrica40%13thBruneiAsia39.9%14thNamibiaAfrica39.9%15thCambodiaAsia39.8%16thPolandEurope39.6%17thGermanyEurope39.3%18thArmeniaEurope38.9%19thLuxembourgEurope38.7%20thCyprusEurope38.6%21stCroatiaEurope38.4%22ndGuineaAfrica37.6%23rdSlovakiaEurope37.5%24thBelizeNorth America37.3%25thCongoAfrica36.8%26thGreeceEurope35%27thBahamasNorth America34.6%28thComorosAfrica33.7%29thNew ZealandOceania33.4%30thSao Tome and PrincipeAfrica31.7%31stPanamaNorth America31.4%32ndPalauOceania31.4%33rdBoliviaSouth America30.9%34thBrazilSouth America30.6%35thTrinidad and TobagoNorth America30.6%36thSri LankaAsia30%37thBeninAfrica29.7%38thAustriaEurope29.6%39thJapanAsia29.5%40thMozambiqueAfrica29.5%41stBotswanaAfrica29.1%42ndMaltaEurope28.9%43rdFranceEurope28.6%44thUnited KingdomEurope28.4%45thZimbabweAfrica28.3%46thNorth MacedoniaEurope28.2%47thSpainEurope28.1%48thTogoAfrica28.1%49thIsraelAsia27.6%50thAndorraEurope27.3%51stCosta RicaNorth America26.5%52ndGibraltarEurope26.4%53rdSenegalAfrica26.3%54thDominican RepublicNorth America26.2%55thGuinea-BissauAfrica26.2%56thRomaniaEurope24.6%57thAlbaniaEurope23.6%58thEcuadorSouth America23.6%59thNepalAsia23.6%60thHondurasNorth America23.4%61stLesothoAfrica23.4%62ndMalawiAfrica23.1%63rdKiribatiOceania22.9%64thNetherlandsEurope22.9%65thCôte d'IvoireAfrica22.8%66thGeorgiaEurope22.8%67thPortugalEurope22.8%68thGabonAfrica22.7%69thHungaryEurope22.6%70thTajikistanAsia22.6%71stSaint Vincent and the GrenadinesNorth America22.6%72ndPeruSouth America22.5%73rdAzerbaijanEurope22.1%74thAustraliaOceania22%75thEstoniaEurope22%76thOmanAsia22%77thCzechiaEurope21.9%78thMontenegroEurope21.7%79thChileSouth America21.6%80thItalyEurope21.6%81stDominicaNorth America21.4%82ndNicaraguaNorth America21.2%83rdChadAfrica21%84thIcelandEurope20.9%85thMonacoEurope20.9%86thTuvaluOceania20.2%87thGuatemalaNorth America20.1%88thJamaicaNorth America19.9%89thMongoliaAsia19.8%90thArubaNorth America19.7%91stUnited Arab EmiratesAsia19.2%92ndPakistanAsia19.2%93rdEquatorial GuineaAfrica19%94thLaosAsia18.8%95thLatviaEurope18.5%96thSaudi ArabiaAsia18.5%97thThailandAsia18.4%98thSaint LuciaNorth America18.2%99thNigerAfrica18.2%100thLithuaniaEurope17.8%101stNorwayEurope17.8%102ndCabo VerdeAfrica17.6%103rdSouth KoreaAsia17.4%104thKuwaitAsia17.1%105thColombiaNorth America17%106thEthiopiaAfrica17%107thSaint Kitts and NevisNorth America16.9%108thUkraineEurope16.8%109thCuraçaoNorth America16.7%110thMarshall IslandsOceania16.6%111stAntigua and BarbudaNorth America16.5%112ndBurkina FasoAfrica16.5%113rdAmerican SamoaOceania16.4%114thBelgiumEurope16.3%115thTimor-LesteAsia16.1%116thUgandaAfrica16.1%117thPhilippinesAsia16%118thDenmarkEurope15.8%119thChinaAsia15.6%120thCubaNorth America15.6%121stQatarAsia15.6%122ndSwedenEurope15.5%123rdSouth SudanAfrica15.4%124thMexicoNorth America15.3%125thCongo, Democratic RepublicAfrica14.9%126thParaguaySouth America14.9%127thCentral African RepublicAfrica14.8%128thGhanaAfrica14.8%129thSurinameNorth America14.8%130thIrelandEurope14.4%131stKenyaAfrica14%132ndNigeriaAfrica13.9%133rdFinlandEurope13.6%134thSerbiaEurope13.4%135thMalaysiaAsia13.3%136thTongaOceania13.3%137thU.S. Virgin IslandsNorth America13.3%138thEgyptAfrica13.2%139thCanadaNorth America12.9%140thUnited StatesNorth America12.9%141stMadagascarAfrica12.7%142ndSierra LeoneAfrica12.6%143rdSwitzerlandEurope12.5%144thIndonesiaAsia12%145thBahrainAsia11.7%146thMoldovaEurope11.5%147thRussiaEurope11.5%148thCameroonAfrica11%149thAngolaAfrica10.8%150thBritish Virgin IslandsNorth America10.5%151stKazakhstanAsia10.1%152ndPalestineAsia10%153rdBosnia and HerzegovinaEurope9.5%154thUzbekistanAsia9.5%155thSouth AfricaAfrica9.5%156thBelarusEurope9.4%157thSaint MartinNorth America9.3%158thRwandaAfrica9.1%159thArgentinaSouth America8.8%160thGrenadaNorth America8.8%161stCayman IslandsNorth America8.8%162ndHaitiNorth America8.6%163rdIranAsia8.6%164thGuyanaNorth America8.4%165thEl SalvadorNorth America8.3%166thLebanonAsia7.9%167thTunisiaAfrica7.9%168thSamoaOceania7.8%169thIndiaAsia7.7%170thBurundiAfrica7.6%171stGambiaAfrica7.6%172ndVietnamAsia7.6%173rdMaliAfrica7.5%174thTurkeyEurope7.0%175thKyrgyzstanAsia6.8%176thMyanmarAsia6.6%177thPuerto RicoNorth America6.6%178thJordanAsia5.4%179thMauritiusAfrica5.0%180thAlgeriaAfrica4.7%181stIsle of ManEurope4.6%182ndSingaporeAsia4.6%183rdTurkmenistanAsia4.3%184thBangladeshAsia4.2%185thGuamOceania4.2%186thEswatiniAfrica4.2%187thVanuatuOceania4.2%188thLiberiaAfrica4.0%189thFijiOceania3.9%190thPapua New GuineaOceania3.7%191stAfghanistanAsia3.6%192ndUruguaySouth America3.1%193rdMaldivesAsia3.0%194thNorthern Mariana IslandsOceania2.8%195thFaroe IslandsEurope2.4%196thNorth KoreaAsia2.4%197thSolomon IslandsOceania2.4%198thBermudaNorth America2.3%199thSudanAfrica2.3%200thMoroccoAfrica2.1%201stFrench PolynesiaOceania1.8%202ndDjiboutiAfrica1.6%203rdIraqAsia1.5%204thBarbadosNorth America1.1%205thYemenAsia1.1%206thSint MaartenNorth America0.80%207thSyriaAsia0.70%208thMauritaniaAfrica0.60%209thLibyaAfrica0.10%210thEritreaAfrica0%211stMicronesiaOceania0%212ndNauruOceania0%213rdSomaliaAfrica0%

Protected Land (%) ranking for 213 countries
				Percentile
1st	Seychelles	68.1%	Africa	100%
2nd	New Caledonia	59.6%	Oceania	100%
3rd	Venezuela	56.8%	North America	99%
4th	Bhutan	51.6%	Asia	99%
5th	Liechtenstein	44.8%	Europe	98%
6th	Bulgaria	44.3%	Europe	98%
7th	Turks and Caicos Islands	43.5%	North America	97%
8th	Hong Kong	42%	Asia	97%
9th	Greenland	41.9%	North America	96%
10th	Zambia	41.3%	Africa	96%
11th	Slovenia	40.5%	Europe	95%
12th	Tanzania	40%	Africa	95%
13th	Brunei	39.9%	Asia	94%
14th	Namibia	39.9%	Africa	94%
15th	Cambodia	39.8%	Asia	93%
16th	Poland	39.6%	Europe	93%
17th	Germany	39.3%	Europe	92%
18th	Armenia	38.9%	Europe	92%
19th	Luxembourg	38.7%	Europe	92%
20th	Cyprus	38.6%	Europe	91%
21st	Croatia	38.4%	Europe	91%
22nd	Guinea	37.6%	Africa	90%
23rd	Slovakia	37.5%	Europe	90%
24th	Belize	37.3%	North America	89%
25th	Congo	36.8%	Africa	89%
26th	Greece	35%	Europe	88%
27th	Bahamas	34.6%	North America	88%
28th	Comoros	33.7%	Africa	87%
29th	New Zealand	33.4%	Oceania	87%
30th	Sao Tome and Principe	31.7%	Africa	86%
31st	Panama	31.4%	North America	86%
32nd	Palau	31.4%	Oceania	85%
33rd	Bolivia	30.9%	South America	85%
34th	Brazil	30.6%	South America	85%
35th	Trinidad and Tobago	30.6%	North America	84%
36th	Sri Lanka	30%	Asia	84%
37th	Benin	29.7%	Africa	83%
38th	Austria	29.6%	Europe	83%
39th	Japan	29.5%	Asia	82%
40th	Mozambique	29.5%	Africa	82%
41st	Botswana	29.1%	Africa	81%
42nd	Malta	28.9%	Europe	81%
43rd	France	28.6%	Europe	80%
44th	United Kingdom	28.4%	Europe	80%
45th	Zimbabwe	28.3%	Africa	79%
46th	North Macedonia	28.2%	Europe	79%
47th	Spain	28.1%	Europe	78%
48th	Togo	28.1%	Africa	78%
49th	Israel	27.6%	Asia	77%
50th	Andorra	27.3%	Europe	77%
51st	Costa Rica	26.5%	North America	77%
52nd	Gibraltar	26.4%	Europe	76%
53rd	Senegal	26.3%	Africa	76%
54th	Dominican Republic	26.2%	North America	75%
55th	Guinea-Bissau	26.2%	Africa	75%
56th	Romania	24.6%	Europe	74%
57th	Albania	23.6%	Europe	74%
58th	Ecuador	23.6%	South America	73%
59th	Nepal	23.6%	Asia	73%
60th	Honduras	23.4%	North America	72%
61st	Lesotho	23.4%	Africa	72%
62nd	Malawi	23.1%	Africa	71%
63rd	Kiribati	22.9%	Oceania	71%
64th	Netherlands	22.9%	Europe	70%
65th	Côte d'Ivoire	22.8%	Africa	70%
66th	Georgia	22.8%	Europe	69%
67th	Portugal	22.8%	Europe	69%
68th	Gabon	22.7%	Africa	69%
69th	Hungary	22.6%	Europe	68%
70th	Tajikistan	22.6%	Asia	68%
71st	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	22.6%	North America	67%
72nd	Peru	22.5%	South America	67%
73rd	Azerbaijan	22.1%	Europe	66%
74th	Australia	22%	Oceania	66%
75th	Estonia	22%	Europe	65%
76th	Oman	22%	Asia	65%
77th	Czechia	21.9%	Europe	64%
78th	Montenegro	21.7%	Europe	64%
79th	Chile	21.6%	South America	63%
80th	Italy	21.6%	Europe	63%
81st	Dominica	21.4%	North America	62%
82nd	Nicaragua	21.2%	North America	62%
83rd	Chad	21%	Africa	62%
84th	Iceland	20.9%	Europe	61%
85th	Monaco	20.9%	Europe	61%
86th	Tuvalu	20.2%	Oceania	60%
87th	Guatemala	20.1%	North America	60%
88th	Jamaica	19.9%	North America	59%
89th	Mongolia	19.8%	Asia	59%
90th	Aruba	19.7%	North America	58%
91st	United Arab Emirates	19.2%	Asia	58%
92nd	Pakistan	19.2%	Asia	57%
93rd	Equatorial Guinea	19%	Africa	57%
94th	Laos	18.8%	Asia	56%
95th	Latvia	18.5%	Europe	56%
96th	Saudi Arabia	18.5%	Asia	55%
97th	Thailand	18.4%	Asia	55%
98th	Saint Lucia	18.2%	North America	54%
99th	Niger	18.2%	Africa	54%
100th	Lithuania	17.8%	Europe	54%
101st	Norway	17.8%	Europe	53%
102nd	Cabo Verde	17.6%	Africa	53%
103rd	South Korea	17.4%	Asia	52%
104th	Kuwait	17.1%	Asia	52%
105th	Colombia	17%	North America	51%
106th	Ethiopia	17%	Africa	51%
107th	Saint Kitts and Nevis	16.9%	North America	50%
108th	Ukraine	16.8%	Europe	50%
109th	Curaçao	16.7%	North America	49%
110th	Marshall Islands	16.6%	Oceania	49%
111st	Antigua and Barbuda	16.5%	North America	48%
112nd	Burkina Faso	16.5%	Africa	48%
113rd	American Samoa	16.4%	Oceania	47%
114th	Belgium	16.3%	Europe	47%
115th	Timor-Leste	16.1%	Asia	46%
116th	Uganda	16.1%	Africa	46%
117th	Philippines	16%	Asia	46%
118th	Denmark	15.8%	Europe	45%
119th	China	15.6%	Asia	45%
120th	Cuba	15.6%	North America	44%
121st	Qatar	15.6%	Asia	44%
122nd	Sweden	15.5%	Europe	43%
123rd	South Sudan	15.4%	Africa	43%
124th	Mexico	15.3%	North America	42%
125th	Congo, Democratic Republic	14.9%	Africa	42%
126th	Paraguay	14.9%	South America	41%
127th	Central African Republic	14.8%	Africa	41%
128th	Ghana	14.8%	Africa	40%
129th	Suriname	14.8%	North America	40%
130th	Ireland	14.4%	Europe	39%
131st	Kenya	14%	Africa	39%
132nd	Nigeria	13.9%	Africa	38%
133rd	Finland	13.6%	Europe	38%
134th	Serbia	13.4%	Europe	38%
135th	Malaysia	13.3%	Asia	37%
136th	Tonga	13.3%	Oceania	37%
137th	U.S. Virgin Islands	13.3%	North America	36%
138th	Egypt	13.2%	Africa	36%
139th	Canada	12.9%	North America	35%
140th	United States	12.9%	North America	35%
141st	Madagascar	12.7%	Africa	34%
142nd	Sierra Leone	12.6%	Africa	34%
143rd	Switzerland	12.5%	Europe	33%
144th	Indonesia	12%	Asia	33%
145th	Bahrain	11.7%	Asia	32%
146th	Moldova	11.5%	Europe	32%
147th	Russia	11.5%	Europe	31%
148th	Cameroon	11%	Africa	31%
149th	Angola	10.8%	Africa	31%
150th	British Virgin Islands	10.5%	North America	30%
151st	Kazakhstan	10.1%	Asia	30%
152nd	Palestine	10%	Asia	29%
153rd	Bosnia and Herzegovina	9.5%	Europe	29%
154th	Uzbekistan	9.5%	Asia	28%
155th	South Africa	9.5%	Africa	28%
156th	Belarus	9.4%	Europe	27%
157th	Saint Martin	9.3%	North America	27%
158th	Rwanda	9.1%	Africa	26%
159th	Argentina	8.8%	South America	26%
160th	Grenada	8.8%	North America	25%
161st	Cayman Islands	8.8%	North America	25%
162nd	Haiti	8.6%	North America	24%
163rd	Iran	8.6%	Asia	24%
164th	Guyana	8.4%	North America	23%
165th	El Salvador	8.3%	North America	23%
166th	Lebanon	7.9%	Asia	23%
167th	Tunisia	7.9%	Africa	22%
168th	Samoa	7.8%	Oceania	22%
169th	India	7.7%	Asia	21%
170th	Burundi	7.6%	Africa	21%
171st	Gambia	7.6%	Africa	20%
172nd	Vietnam	7.6%	Asia	20%
173rd	Mali	7.5%	Africa	19%
174th	Turkey	7.0%	Europe	19%
175th	Kyrgyzstan	6.8%	Asia	18%
176th	Myanmar	6.6%	Asia	18%
177th	Puerto Rico	6.6%	North America	17%
178th	Jordan	5.4%	Asia	17%
179th	Mauritius	5.0%	Africa	16%
180th	Algeria	4.7%	Africa	16%
181st	Isle of Man	4.6%	Europe	15%
182nd	Singapore	4.6%	Asia	15%
183rd	Turkmenistan	4.3%	Asia	15%
184th	Bangladesh	4.2%	Asia	14%
185th	Guam	4.2%	Oceania	14%
186th	Eswatini	4.2%	Africa	13%
187th	Vanuatu	4.2%	Oceania	13%
188th	Liberia	4.0%	Africa	12%
189th	Fiji	3.9%	Oceania	12%
190th	Papua New Guinea	3.7%	Oceania	11%
191st	Afghanistan	3.6%	Asia	11%
192nd	Uruguay	3.1%	South America	10%
193rd	Maldives	3.0%	Asia	10%
194th	Northern Mariana Islands	2.8%	Oceania	9%
195th	Faroe Islands	2.4%	Europe	9%
196th	North Korea	2.4%	Asia	8%
197th	Solomon Islands	2.4%	Oceania	8%
198th	Bermuda	2.3%	North America	8%
199th	Sudan	2.3%	Africa	7%
200th	Morocco	2.1%	Africa	7%
201st	French Polynesia	1.8%	Oceania	6%
202nd	Djibouti	1.6%	Africa	6%
203rd	Iraq	1.5%	Asia	5%
204th	Barbados	1.1%	North America	5%
205th	Yemen	1.1%	Asia	4%
206th	Sint Maarten	0.80%	North America	4%
207th	Syria	0.70%	Asia	3%
208th	Mauritania	0.60%	Africa	3%
209th	Libya	0.10%	Africa	2%
210th	Eritrea	0%	Africa	2%
211st	Micronesia	0%	Oceania	1%
212nd	Nauru	0%	Oceania	1%
213rd	Somalia	0%	Africa	0%

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