EarthTrends (http://earthtrends.wri.org) Searchable Database Results
Provided by the World Resources Institute (http://www.wri.org)
"Biodiversity and Protected Areas -- Protected Areas: IUCN categories I-V, percent of total land area"

"Units: Percent"

,,2006,
World
"World {1}","",6.2,

,,2006,
Region/Classification
"Asia (excluding Middle East)","",9.5,
"Central America & Caribbean","",2.4,
"Europe","",5.4,
"Middle East & North Africa","",2.9,
"North America","",5.6,
"Oceania","",6.8,
"South America","",5.8,
"Sub-Saharan Africa","",5.9,
"Developed Countries","",5.6,
"Developing Countries","",6.5,
"High Income Countries","",6.2,
"Low Income Countries","",5.9,
"Middle Income Countries","",6.3,

,,2006,
Country
"Afghanistan","AFG",0.3,
"Albania","ALB",0.7,
"Algeria","DZA",5.1,
"Angola","AGO",4.2,
"Antigua and Barbuda","ATG",0.0,
"Argentina","ARG",2.1,
"Armenia","ARM",8.1,
"Australia","AUS",6.6,
"Austria","AUT",28.3,
"Azerbaijan","AZE",2.4,
"Bahamas","BHS",0.1,
"Bahrain","BHR",3.4,
"Bangladesh","BGD",0.5,
"Barbados","BRB",0.1,
"Belarus","BLR",5.2,
"Belgium","BEL",2.6,
"Belize","BLZ",19.3,
"Benin","BEN",6.6,
"Bermuda","BMU",4.3,
"Bhutan","BTN",31.5,
"Bolivia","BOL",11.5,
"Bosnia and Herzegovina","BIH",0.5,
"Botswana","BWA",18.2,
"Brazil","BRA",3.7,
"British Virgin Islands","VGB",3.0,
"Brunei Darussalam","BRN",22.6,
"Bulgaria","BGR",5.4,
"Burkina Faso","BFA",10.4,
"Burundi","BDI",5.7,
"Cambodia","KHM",20.6,
"Cameroon","CMR",7.4,
"Canada","CAN",4.0,
"Cayman Islands","CYM",2.8,
"Côte d'Ivoire","CIV",6.1,
"Central African Rep","CAF",11.8,
"Chad","TCD",9.0,
"Chile","CHL",3.8,
"China","CHN",14.8,
"Colombia","COL",8.3,
"Congo","COG",10.4,
"Congo, Dem Rep","COD",5.1,
"Costa Rica","CRI",8.7,
"Croatia","HRV",5.9,
"Cuba","CUB",0.9,
"Cyprus","CYP",7.7,
"Czech Rep","CZE",15.9,
"Denmark","DNK",6.0,
"Dominica","DMA",24.3,
"Dominican Rep","DOM",23.5,
"Ecuador","ECU",9.1,
"Egypt","EGY",4.1,
"Equatorial Guinea","GNQ",17.0,
"Eritrea","ERI",4.2,
"Estonia","EST",7.7,
"Ethiopia","ETH",4.9,
"Falkland Islands","FLK",0.4,
"Fiji","FJI",0.9,
"Finland","FIN",3.0,
"France","FRA",10.2,
"French Guiana","GUF",6.2,
"French Polynesia","PYF",0.8,
"Gabon","GAB",0.3,
"Georgia","GEO",3.9,
"Germany","DEU",21.3,
"Ghana","GHA",4.6,
"Greece","GRC",1.9,
"Greenland","GRL",0.0,
"Guadeloupe","GLP",31.1,
"Guatemala","GTM",8.3,
"Guinea","GIN",0.2,
"Guyana","GUY",2.3,
"Haiti","HTI",0.3,
"Honduras","HND",7.2,
"Hungary","HUN",5.7,
"Iceland","ISL",3.9,
"India","IND",4.7,
"Indonesia","IDN",4.4,
"Iran, Islamic Rep","IRN",6.1,
"Ireland","IRL",1.1,
"Israel","ISR",10.5,
"Italy","ITA",4.5,
"Japan","JPN",8.8,
"Jordan","JOR",10.4,
"Kazakhstan","KAZ",2.7,
"Kenya","KEN",6.0,
"Korea, Dem People's Rep","PRK",2.6,
"Korea, Rep","KOR",3.7,
"Kuwait","KWT",0.0,
"Kyrgyzstan","KGZ",3.0,
"Latvia","LVA",13.8,
"Lebanon","LBN",0.3,
"Lesotho","LSO",0.2,
"Liberia","LBR",1.4,
"Libyan Arab Jamahiriya","LBY",0.1,
"Liechtenstein","LIE",57.4,
"Lithuania","LTU",5.4,
"Luxembourg","LUX",14.4,
"Macedonia, FYR","MKD",7.1,
"Madagascar","MDG",2.0,
"Malawi","MWI",9.0,
"Malaysia","MYS",5.4,
"Mali","MLI",2.0,
"Malta","MLT",21.4,
"Martinique","MTQ",81.7,
"Mauritius","MUS",4.8,
"Mexico","MEX",0.6,
"Micronesia, Fed States","FSM",32.7,
"Moldova, Rep","MDA",1.4,
"Mongolia","MNG",13.5,
"Morocco","MAR",0.8,
"Mozambique","MOZ",4.1,
"Myanmar","MMR",4.8,
"Namibia","NAM",3.9,
"Nepal","NPL",6.7,
"Netherlands","NLD",4.2,
"New Caledonia","NCL",3.3,
"New Zealand","NZL",24.0,
"Nicaragua","NIC",6.0,
"Niger","NER",7.1,
"Nigeria","NGA",3.8,
"Norway","NOR",5.1,
"Oman","OMN",0.1,
"Pakistan","PAK",3.8,
"Palau","PLW",0.0,
"Panama","PAN",6.6,
"Papua New Guinea","PNG",0.5,
"Paraguay","PRY",4.2,
"Peru","PER",3.1,
"Philippines","PHL",7.4,
"Poland","POL",8.4,
"Portugal","PRT",5.1,
"Puerto Rico","PRI",0.1,
"Qatar","QAT",0.0,
"Réunion","REU",8.0,
"Romania","ROU",1.8,
"Russian Federation","RUS",4.7,
"Rwanda","RWA",8.0,
"Saint Helena","SHN",22.7,
"Saint Kitts and Nevis","KNA",0.1,
"Samoa","WSM",2.8,
"Saudi Arabia","SAU",2.0,
"Senegal","SEN",10.6,
"Serbia and Montenegro","YUG",2.9,
"Seychelles","SYC",16.7,
"Sierra Leone","SLE",2.0,
"Singapore","SGP",7.3,
"Slovakia","SVK",7.5,
"Slovenia","SVN",6.5,
"Solomon Islands","SLB",0.9,
"Somalia","SOM",0.3,
"South Africa","ZAF",5.3,
"Spain","ESP",7.9,
"Sri Lanka","LKA",8.8,
"St. Lucia","LCA",4.7,
"St. Vincent & Grenadines","VCT",18.6,
"Sudan","SDN",3.5,
"Suriname","SUR",12.9,
"Swaziland","SWZ",2.1,
"Sweden","SWE",9.3,
"Switzerland","CHE",28.2,
"Tajikistan","TJK",13.6,
"Tanzania","TZA",14.6,
"Thailand","THA",19.7,
"Togo","TGO",7.6,
"Tonga","TON",24.4,
"Trinidad and Tobago","TTO",5.5,
"Tunisia","TUN",0.2,
"Turkey","TUR",0.6,
"Turkmenistan","TKM",2.3,
"Turks and Caicos Islands","TCA",3.1,
"Uganda","UGA",7.0,
"Ukraine","UKR",3.3,
"United Kingdom","GBR",10.6,
"United States","USA",7.5,
"Uruguay","URY",0.2,
"Uzbekistan","UZB",1.9,
"Venezuela","VEN",33.0,
"Viet Nam","VNM",4.8,
"Zambia","ZMB",8.4,
"Zimbabwe","ZWE",7.9,

Footnotes
"1 -- World"
"World total was calculated by WRI."

Source
"United Nations Environment Programme - World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC). 2006. World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA). Data set available on CD-ROM. Cambridge, U.K: UNEP-WCMC. Online at http://www.unep-wcmc.org/wdpa/."


Technical Notes
"Definition:"
"Protected Areas: IUCN categories I-V, percent of total land area refers to the proportion of a country or region's total land area that is designated a terrestrial protected area by the World Conservation Union (IUCN) in categories I-V. A protected area is defined by IUCN as ""an area of land and/or sea especially dedicated to the protection and maintenance of biological diversity, and of natural and associated cultural resources, and managed through legal or other effective means."" "
""
"IUCN assigns each protected area to one of six categories, depending on level of protection; categories I-V include strict nature reserves, wilderness areas, national parks, natural monuments, habitat/species management areas, and protected landscapes. IUCN category VI, unclassified areas, marine areas, and littoral (intertidal) areas are excluded from this total. Classifications of protected areas are described more completely in the methodology section below. "
""
"Although protected areas serve a vital function in protecting the earth’s resources they face many challenges, such as external threats associated with pollution and climate change, irresponsible tourism, infrastructure development and ever increasing demands for land and water resources. Moreover, many protected areas lack political support and have inadequate financial and other resources."
""
"Years Covered and Frequency of Update:"
"The dataset shown here is for 2006 and was taken from the World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA), released in March 2006.  The original source is available on-line at: http://www.unep-wcmc.org/wdpa/. The database is updated by the United Nations World Conservation Monitoring Center (WCMC) on a continual basis. "
""
""
"Methodology: "
"WRI calculated the values shown here by dividing the protected areas (categories I-V) in a country by that country's total land area, as provided in 2006 ESRI GIS dataset."
""
"Protected areas information is collected periodically from national agencies legally charged with administration and management of protected areas. Summary information presented in the WDPA, of which UNEP-WCMC is the custodian, includes the legal designation, name, IUCN Management Category, size in hectares, location (latitude and longitude), and the year of establishment for over 100,000 sites. "
""
"IUCN categorizes protected areas by management objective and has identified six distinct categories of protected areas: "
"Category Ia. Strict nature reserve: A protected area managed mainly for scientific research and monitoring; an area of land and/or sea possessing some outstanding or representative ecosystems, geological or physiological features and/or species."
"Category Ib. Wilderness area: A protected area managed mainly for wilderness protection; a large area of unmodified or slightly modified land and/or sea retaining its natural character and influence, without permanent or significant habitation, which is protected and managed so as to preserve its natural condition."
"Category II.  National park: A protected area managed mainly for ecosystem protection and recreation; a natural area of land and/or sea designated to: (a) protect the ecological integrity of one or more ecosystems for present and future generations; (b) exclude exploitation or occupation inimical to the purposes of designation of the area; and (c) provide a foundation for spiritual, scientific, educational, recreational, and visitor opportunities, all of which must be environmentally and culturally compatible."
"Category III. Natural monument: A protected area managed mainly for conservation of specific natural features; an area containing one or more specific natural or natural/cultural features that is of outstanding or unique value because of its inherent rarity, representative or aesthetic qualities, or cultural significance."
"Category IV.  Habitat/species management area: A protected area managed mainly for conservation through management intervention; an area of land and/or sea subject to active intervention for management purposes so as to ensure the maintenance of habitats and/or to meet the requirements of specific species."
"Category V.  Protected landscape/seascape: A protected area managed mainly for landscape/seascape conservation and recreation; an area of land, with coast and sea as appropriate, where the interaction of people and nature over time has produced an area of distinct character with significant aesthetic, ecological, and/or cultural value, and often with high biological diversity. "
"Category VI. Managed Resource Protected Area: Managed mainly for the sustainable use of natural ecosystems. These areas contain predominantly unmodified natural systems, managed to ensure long-term protection and maintenance of biological diversity, while also providing a sustainable flow of natural products and services to meet community needs."
""
"All calculations for the analyses were performed by WRI using the WDPA GIS point files containing all nationally-designated protected areas. "
""
"Please refer to the original source for further information on the variables and collection methodologies or to the IUCN Web site, http://www.iucn.org/themes/wcpa/."
""
"Data Reliability:"
"The World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) represents the most comprehensive database on protected areas in the world.  Although the WDPA Consortium has made every effort to provide an up-to-date and accurate database, they are continually working to improve data quality.  Data limitations stem from data gaps, geographic or attribute data inaccuracies, and the challenge of tracking global information and knowledge on protected areas."
""
"Data gaps are the result of uneven global data coverage, especially the lack of geographic data for many protected areas. Also, data evolution and inconsistencies in updating new information are a constant challenge. The number and extent of protected areas are underreported by many countries. These issues will only be addressed as improved and more recent data sources become available."