Which European Countries Protect the Most Land?
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Key Takeaways
- Bulgaria leads the EU with 41.0% of its land protected, followed closely by Slovenia at 40.5% and Poland at 39.6%.
- By contrast, Finland (13.4%), Ireland (13.9%), and Belgium (14.7%) have the lowest proportions.
Today, 26.1% of the EU’s land mass is protected, moderately increasing by 1.8% since 2011.
Importantly, these areas prevent biodiversity loss and safeguard species from industrial and residential activities under national law. Overall, 100,000 sites span across the continent, although many are small in size.
This map shows what share of each EU country’s land is protected, based on data from the European Union.
The Geography of Protected Land in Europe
Below, we show which EU countries protect the most land under national legislation:
| Country | Share of protected land area | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Bulgaria |
41.0% |
| 2 |  Slovenia |
40.5% |
| 3 |  Poland |
39.6% |
| 4 |  Germany |
38.5% |
| 5 |  Croatia |
38.2% |
| 6 |  Luxembourg |
37.9% |
| 7 |  Cyprus |
37.8% |
| 8 |  Slovakia |
37.3% |
| 9 |  Greece |
34.6% |
| 10 |  Austria |
29.3% |
| 11 |  Malta |
28.7% |
| 12 |  Spain |
28.1% |
| 13 |  France |
28.1% |
| 14 |  Romania |
23.5% |
| 15 |  Netherlands |
22.7% |
| 16 |  Portugal |
22.4% |
| 17 |  Hungary |
22.2% |
| 18 |  Czechia |
21.8% |
| 19 |  Italy |
21.4% |
| 20 |  Estonia |
21.0% |
| 21 |  Latvia |
18.1% |
| 22 |  Lithuania |
17.8% |
| 23 |  Denmark |
15.1% |
| 24 |  Sweden |
15.0% |
| 25 |  Belgium |
14.7% |
| 26 |  Ireland |
13.9% |
| 27 |  Finland |
13.4% |
| EU Total | 26.1% |
Bulgaria leads across member states, with 41% of its land area under protection.
As a primarily mountainous country, bordering Russia in the north and east, Bulgaria has 1,392 protected areas, with the majority under one square kilometer. Of the country’s marine areas, 8% are protected.
Slovenia and Poland rank next in line, with 40.6% and 39.6% of terrestrial land protected, respectively.
When it comes to Germany, the largest economy on the continent, the share falls at 38.5%. Perhaps most notably, 45.4% of marine waters are protected, nearly four times higher than the EU average.
On the bottom end of the spectrum are countries like Finland (13.4%) and Sweden (15.0%). However, these countries have large amounts of forested land designated for sustainable use—rather than strict protected conservation.
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