United Nations list of national parks

This UN List is the thirteenth produced since 1962 and the first version to attempt a comprehensive presentation of all the world’s known protected areas. The introductory text presents an analysis and the accompanying CD lists more than 102,000 sites covering 18.8 million sq. km. Significant progress has been made in conserving representative areas of the world’s terrestrial biomes, although some, including Lake Systems and Temperate Grasslands, remain under-represented.

This new edition reveals a global network of over 30,000 protected areas designated under national legislation which covers 13.2 million square kilometres of land, freshwater and sea, an area larger than Canada, and accounts for nearly 8 per cent of the world's land area, as well as 1.5 million square kilometres of sea.