SaveOnEnergy.com/uk analysed almost 80,000 nationally protected terrestrial areas in Europe, calculating the percentage of protected space per country, to discover who makes the biggest attempt to preserve their natural terrene.
The countries with the largest percent of protected nature
| Country | Total National Designated Protected Area (km) | Number of Designated Protected Areas | % of National Land Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Luxembourg | 1,963 | 134 | 75.9% |
| #2 | Slovenia | 14,611 | 1,891 | 72.1% |
| #3 | Malta | 206 | 250 | 65.1% |
| #4 | Cyprus | 5,141 | 57 | 55.6% |
| #5 | Liechtenstein | 73 | 44 | 45.5% |
| #6 | Netherlands | 18,368 | 182 | 44.2% |
| #7 | United Kingdom | 88,135 | 9,032 | 36.3% |
| #8 | Austria | 27,821 | 1,222 | 33.2% |
| #9 | Poland | 102,841 | 2,043 | 32.9% |
| #10 | Germany | 111,356 | 17,654 | 31.2% |
SaveOnEnergy.com/uk can reveal that Luxembourg is the European country with the highest percentage of protected land at 75.9%. Luxembourg is one of the smallest countries in Europe (2,586 km2), and is home to just 134 designated areas, but with these areas covering 1,963 km2 they take first place.
In second place is Slovenia, with 72.1% of their country’s nature being protected, the country has a whopping 1,891 designated areas.
Malta has the third-highest percentage of protected terrestrial land in Europe. Covering 65.1% of their land, there are 250 sites for locals to enjoy such as Għar Dalam cave, Maqluba and Mdina.
Cyprus comes fourth with 57 designated areas and 55.6% of land protected, followed by Liechtenstein with 44 designated areas and 45.5% of the country protected by legislation.
The countries with the smallest percent of protected nature
| Country | Total National Designated Protected Area (km) | Number of Designated Protected Areas | % of National Land Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 1,922 | 40 | 3.8% |
| #2 | Romania | 13,980 | 943 | 5.9% |
| #3 | Serbia | 6,490 | 377 | 7.3% |
| #4 | Belgium | 2,596 | 1,494 | 8.5% |
| #4 | Portugal | 7,855 | 170 | 8.5% |
| #6 | North Macedonia | 2,297 | 74 | 8.9% |
| #7 | Hungary | 8,485 | 311 | 9.1% |
| #8 | Italy | 31,485 | 836 | 10.4% |
| #9 | Sweden | 50,813 | 15,254 | 11.3% |
| #10 | Latvia | 7,690 | 671 | 11.9% |
With just 3.8% of its land protected, SaveOnEnergy found that Bosnia and Herzegovina is the country with the smallest percentage of protected nature in Europe. Although there are 40 designated sites, they only cover 1,922 km2 of the country’s 192,232 km2 land.
Just behind, with 5.9% of their terrestrial land protected, Romania places second to last. Despite having many designated areas (934), such as Dealul Zackel and Cindrel, they aren’t widely spread across the country.
Completing the bottom five are Serbia (7.3%), Belgium (8.5%) and Portugal (8.5%).
For more information, please see SaveOnEnergy’s blog here: https://www.saveonenergy.com/uk/protected-land-in-european-countries/
All Inclusive
Luksusowy kwartalnik turystyczno-podróżniczy. Od 2004 roku opisujemy miejsca, do których warto lecieć dłużej niż na weekend, i ludzi, którzy je prowadzą.
