The Top 5 Countries with the Largest Extent of Natural World Heritage Sites

  Country Area of World Heritage Sites
(hectares) 		% of National Protected Areas Number of World Heritage Sites
1 Australia 44,640,708 ha 31% 18
2 Russia 20,997,027 ha 13% 24
3 Canada 10,663,549 ha 12% 15
4 United States 10,133,617 ha 4% 21
5 Ecuador 9,028,439 ha 43% 4
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 Special Report
  1. As of 2010 there are 201 natural World Heritage Sites around the globe. 176 are classified as natural sites, and 25 are classified as mixed sites.
  2. Natural World Heritage Sites protect over 177 million hectares (ha) of land and sea. This amounts to 8% of the total area of all recorded protected areas, 21% of the total area of all recorded marine protected areas; and an area equivalent to 10.3% of all IUCN categorized protected areas.
  3. Of all areas recorded as protected areas in the World Database on Protected Areas, natural World Heritage Sites include: 11% of the total protected area in Asia and the Pacific; 9% of the total protected area in Africa, 6.5% of the total protected area in Latin America and the Caribbean, 6% of the total protected area in the Arab States; and 6% of the total protected area in Europe and North America.
  4. 81 countries around the word have an area designated as a natural World Heritage Site. In 17 countries the extent of World Heritage Sites is more than 25% of all protected areas and in 32 countries the extent of World Heritage Sites is more than 10% of all protected areas.
  5. More than half of the member states of the World Heritage Convention have no natural World Heritage Site.
Top 5 facts sources:
  1. ICUN. (2010). "World Heritage Facts and Figures 2010". Retrieved Feb, 2011 from http://www.iucn.org/about/work/programmes/wcpa_worldheritage/wcpa_whfacts/
Tags: Travel & Tourism , Top 5 Largest, The United States, Canada, Australia

Sources:  ICUN: World Heritage Facts and Figures 2010.

List Notes: List is countries with the largest extent of natural World Heritage Sites in hectares as of the year 2010.
Countries with the Largest Extent of Natural World Heritage Sites

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