Terrestrial protected areas in North America
Protected areas covered 12.9% of the land area of North America in 2025.
North America is a group: World Bank region. The value is the aggregate published by World Bank, not an average calculated on this site.
North America, 2025
12.9%
Change from 2024
0percentage points
World, 2025
16.5%
Terrestrial protected areas in North America over time
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North America
World
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The chart loads when you scroll to it. The table below shows the same data.
The chart shows a calculation from the published values. The table below keeps the published values.
% of land area. Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators. Gaps mean no published value; points are not joined across missing years.
| Period | North America | World |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 12.9% | 16.5% |
| 2024 | 12.9% | 16.4% |
| 2023 | 12.8% | 16.1% |
| 2022 | 12.8% | 15.9% |
| 2021 | 12.4% | 15.8% |
| 2020 | 10.8% | 15.4% |
| 2019 | 12.0% | 15.1% |
| 2018 | 11.3% | 15.0% |
| 2017 | 11.6% | 15.1% |
| 2016 | 11.3% | 14.9% |
| 2015 | 11.2% | 15.0% |
| 2014 | 11.2% | 15.2% |
| 2013 | 11.4% | 15.0% |
A dash means no value was published for that period.
In short
- That is unchanged from 2024.
- Since 2015, when it was 11.2%, the figure has changed by +1.7 percentage points.
- The figure for the world in 2025 was 16.5%.