Terrestrial protected areas in North America
North America: Terrestrial protected areas was 12.9% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Terrestrial protected areas in North America, 2013–2025
Source: Protected Planet: The World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) and World Database on Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (WD-OECM), UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring. Measured in % of total land area.
Analysis
North America recorded 12.9% for terrestrial protected areas in 2025. That is the highest value across all 13 years on record.
That represents a change of up 15.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, terrestrial protected areas in North America peaked at 12.9% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 10.8%, in 2020.
That places North America 35th out of 45 groups with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 13 years of available data.
Terrestrial protected areas in North America, year by year
| Year | % of total land area | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 11.4% | — |
| 2014 | 11.2% | -2.1% |
| 2015 | 11.2% | -0.5% |
| 2016 | 11.3% | +1.4% |
| 2017 | 11.6% | +2.2% |
| 2018 | 11.3% | -2.6% |
| 2019 | 12.0% | +6.4% |
| 2020 | 10.8% | -9.6% |
| 2021 | 12.4% | +14.9% |
| 2022 | 12.8% | +3.3% |
| 2023 | 12.8% | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 12.9% | +0.4% |
| 2025 | 12.9% | +0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 11.4% | 11.2% | 12.0% | 7 |
| 2020s | 12.5% | 10.8% | 12.9% | 6 |
Countries ranked near North America
More climate change data for North America
- Population growth 0.6% (2025)
- Population, total 383.50 million (2025)
- Urban population growth 0.7% (2025)
- Urban population 308.67 million (2025)
- Urban population 80.5% (2025)
- Annual Net Emissions/Removals 6,870 (2024)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million 46.7% (2025)
- Annual freshwater withdrawals, total 480.42 billion cubic meters (2022)
- Annual freshwater withdrawals, total 8.5% (2022)
- Terrestrial and marine protected areas 13.7% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is terrestrial protected areas in North America?
- Terrestrial protected areas in North America was 12.9% in 2025, according to Protected Planet: The World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) and World Database on Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (WD-OECM), UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring.
- What is the highest terrestrial protected areas recorded in North America?
- The highest recorded value was 12.9% in 2024.
- What is the lowest terrestrial protected areas recorded in North America?
- The lowest recorded value was 10.8% in 2020.
- How does North America rank for terrestrial protected areas?
- North America ranks 35th out of 45 groups with data for 2025.
- Is terrestrial protected areas rising or falling in North America?
- Over the last ten years it is up 15.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this North America data come from?
- The figures come from Protected Planet: The World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) and World Database on Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (WD-OECM), UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring, published as part of Terrestrial protected areas (% of total land area). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 13 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Terrestrial protected areas are totally or partially protected areas of at least 1,000 hectares that are designated by national authorities 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, littoral (intertidal) areas, and sites protected under local or provincial law are excluded.