Terrestrial protected areas (% of total land area) in North America
North America: Terrestrial protected areas (% of total land area) 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 37th out of 47 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 (% of total land area) 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, total, annual growth rate 0.5691 % change on previous year (2025)
- Urban population, per capita 0.8049 units per person (2025)
- Urban population 308.67 million (2025)
- Urban population growth 0.7% (2025)
- Population, total 383.50 million (2025)
- Urban population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population, total, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population growth 0.6% (2025)
- Urban population, annual growth rate 0.6692 % change on previous year (2025)
- Annual Net Emissions/Removals (Greenhouse gas, Total, Metric ton of) 0 units per person (2024)
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 37th out of 47 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.