2026-11-02 · percent of terrestrial area

About seventeen percent of land is protected

Aichi / 30×30 targets push higher — most land is still unprotected.

Most of Earth's land — 83% — has no formal protection. The protected 17% splits between strict reserves and sustainable-use areas, and the 30×30 pledge to safeguard 30% of land by 2030 still sits far beyond today's coverage.

1 cell = 0.1 percent of terrestrial area (0.1% of land surface) · 1,000 cells

Context

Protected Planet, built on the World Database on Protected Areas and the OECM database, put terrestrial and inland-water coverage at 17.36% in its September 2026 statistics — 18.45% once other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs) are counted. The databases track 296,001 protected areas and 7,433 OECMs across land and inland waters.

Within the protected share, strict protection (IUCN categories I–IV) accounts for 12% of terrestrial area and sustainable-use areas (V–VI) for another 5%, leaving 83% of land without any protected designation.

The ocean trails further behind: marine protected areas cover 9.81% of marine waters, rising to 10.03% when OECMs are included. Terrestrial coverage has only just edged past the 17% Aichi-era benchmark, while the 30×30 goal of protecting 30% of land and sea by 2030 remains distant on both fronts.

WDPA / UN protected planet statistics.