Natural World Heritage
August 2016
1 out of 5 World Heritage sites is natural There are 238 natural World Heritage sites,
representing 23% of all 1052 sites listed as
World Heritage. Out of these, 35 sites are
mixed - both natural and cultural - and
203 are natural.
286m ha.of land and sea of land and sea Natural World Heritage protects over 286 million Natural World Heritage protects over 286 million
hectares of land and sea. This covers hectares of land and sea. This covers
of the of the total areatotal area covered by over covered by over
200,000 recorded protected areas 200,000 recorded protected areas
of the total of the total land arealand area covered by all covered by all
recorded terrestrial recorded terrestrial protected areasprotected areas
of the total of the total sea areasea area covered by all covered by all
recorded marine recorded marine protected areasprotected areas
102 countrieswith natural World with natural World Heritage sites 8 in the Arab States
42 in Africa
42 in Latin America and the Caribbean
72 in Europe and North America
74 in Asia and the Pacifi c
In 43 countries the extent of World
Heritage sites is more than 10% of all
national protected areas
18 sitesin danger in danger Currently, 18 natural World Heritage sites are Currently, 18 natural World Heritage sites are on the List of World Heritage in Dangeron the List of World Heritage in Danger
111 forest sites 49 marine sites
16 transboundary
INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE
Facts and fi gures 2016
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WORLD HERITAGE FACTS
Top 10 countries with Top 10 countries with the largest World the largest World Heritage coverageHeritage coverage
CountryTotal area
(ha)1
% of protected
areas2
1 USA 46,513,654 12.8%
2 Australia 45,616,424 9.9%
3 Kiribati 40,825,813 99.8%
4 Russia 23,432,990 12.5%
5 Ecuador 14,948,879 77.6%
6 Canada 10,752,043 11%
7 Niger 8,092,128 39.3%
8 Algeria 7,571,268 43.4%
9 Tanzania 6,972,264 22.6%
10Democratic Republic
of the Congo6,895,266 23.1%
1. UNEP-WCMC (2016) Global Statistics from the World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA): February 2016. Cambridge, UK: UNEP-WCMC. All areas are calculated from GIS boundaries using the Mollweide equal area projection for consistency.2.Data includes all designated protected areas recorded in WDPA (including land, territorial sea and exclusive economic zone, February 2016) except for UNESCO Man and Biosphere Reserves.
Top 10 biggest natural Top 10 biggest natural World Heritage sites World Heritage sites
Site CountryTotal area
(ha)
1Phoenix Islands
Protected AreaKiribati 40,825,813
2 Papahānaumokuākea USA 36,479,268
3 Great Barrier Reef Australia 34,823,325
4 Galápagos Ecuador 14,696,203
5Kluane / Wrangell-St Elias /
Glacier Bay /
Tatshenshini-Alsek
USA /
Canada9,728,368
6 Lake Baikal Russia 8,550,838
7Aïr and Ténéré Natural
ReservesNiger 7,869,613
8 Tassili n’Ajjer Algeria 7,571,268
9Central Amazon
Conservation ComplexBrazil 5,131,312
10 Selous Game Reserve Tanzania 4,751,807
INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE
WORLD HERITAGE FACTS
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