Climate · Africa ranking
Protected Areas by African country
Zambia has the highest protected land and marine area share of any African country, at 41.3% — 1.2× Republic of the Congo's 34.2%.
Terrestrial and marine protected areas as a share of total territorial area. 54 of 54 countries, ranked · World Bank — World Development Indicators, 2025.
Zambia
Republic of the Congo
SeychellesBy region
Full ranking
| # | Country | Protected Areas | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zambia | 41.3% | |
| 2 | Republic of the Congo | 34.2% | |
| 3 | Seychelles | 32.6% | |
| 4 | Tanzania | 32.3% | |
| 5 | Guinea | 29.6% | |
| 6 | Benin | 28.8% | |
| 7 | Zimbabwe | 28.3% | |
| 8 | Botswana | 27.6% | |
| 9 | Gabon | 24.4% | |
| 10 | Namibia | 24.4% | |
| 11 | Lesotho | 23.4% | |
| 12 | Malawi | 23.1% | |
| 13 | Togo | 22.1% | |
| 14 | Chad | 21% | |
| 15 | Niger | 21% | |
| 16 | Mozambique | 18% | |
| 17 | Ethiopia | 17% | |
| 18 | Burkina Faso | 16.8% | |
| 19 | Senegal | 16.6% | |
| 20 | Uganda | 16.1% | |
| 21 | South Sudan | 15.4% | |
| 22 | Cote d'Ivoire | 14.9% | |
| 23 | Democratic Republic of the Congo | 14.9% | |
| 24 | Central African Republic | 14.8% | |
| 25 | Guinea-Bissau | 13.2% | |
| 26 | South Africa | 12.9% | |
| 27 | Kenya | 11.8% | |
| 28 | Egypt | 11.6% | |
| 29 | Nigeria | 11.6% | |
| 30 | Cameroon | 11% | |
| 31 | Rwanda | 9.1% | |
| 32 | Ghana | 7.9% | |
| 33 | Angola | 7.7% | |
| 34 | Burundi | 7.6% | |
| 35 | Mali | 7.5% | |
| 36 | Tunisia | 5.2% | |
| 37 | Madagascar | 5.1% | |
| 38 | Sierra Leone | 5.1% | |
| 39 | Algeria | 4.4% | |
| 40 | Eswatini | 4.2% | |
| 41 | Sudan | 3.3% | |
| 42 | Gambia | 2.9% | |
| 43 | Equatorial Guinea | 1.8% | |
| 44 | Morocco | 1.4% | |
| 45 | Djibouti | 1.2% | |
| 46 | Liberia | 1.2% | |
| 47 | Mauritania | 1% | |
| 48 | Comoros | 0.7% | |
| 49 | Cabo Verde | 0.2% | |
| 50 | Libya | 0.2% | |
| 51 | Sao Tome and Principe | 0.2% | |
| 52 | Eritrea | 0% | |
| 53 | Mauritius | 0% | |
| 54 | Somalia | 0% |
Tanzania
Guinea
Benin
Zimbabwe
Botswana
Gabon
Namibia
Lesotho
Malawi
Togo
Chad
Niger
Mozambique
Ethiopia
Burkina Faso
Senegal
Uganda
South Sudan
Cote d'Ivoire
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Central African Republic
Guinea-Bissau
South Africa
Kenya
Egypt
Nigeria
Cameroon
Rwanda
Ghana
Angola
Burundi
Mali
Tunisia
Madagascar
Sierra Leone
Algeria
Eswatini
Sudan
Gambia
Equatorial Guinea
Morocco
Djibouti
Liberia
Mauritania
Comoros
Cabo Verde
Libya
Sao Tome and Principe
Eritrea
Mauritius
SomaliaGet this ranking via API
One call to /v1/data returns the latest Protected Areas figure for every country you pass — JSON, with source metadata on each observation.
curl "https://api.africa-api.com/v1/data?metric_key=protected_areas_pct_total&latest=true&country_codes=NG,KE,ZA,EG" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $AFRICA_API_KEY"Cite or republish this ranking
Data: Africa API — World Bank — World Development Indicators, 2025. Free to republish with a link to this page. Pull the live figures via the API above so your version never goes stale.
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Drop this chart into your article or site — it stays live as the data updates. Paste the snippet anywhere HTML is allowed (a citation link is included).
Frequently asked questions
Which African country has the highest protected land and marine area share?
Zambia has the highest protected land and marine area share in Africa at 41.3% (2025), followed by Republic of the Congo and Seychelles.
Which African country has the lowest protected land and marine area share?
Somalia has the lowest protected land and marine area share of the 54 African countries with data, at 0% (2025).
How many African countries report Protected Areas data?
54 of 54 African countries have a recent Protected Areas figure in the Africa API. Each value links to the country's full series with source and history.
How do I get this ranking via API?
Call GET /v1/data?metric_key=protected_areas_pct_total&latest=true with the country codes you need and a free Africa API key — the response returns the latest value per country as JSON.
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