Protected nature 2016:
Protected areas 2016
Statistical news from Statistics Sweden and Swedish Environmental Protection Agency 2017-05-24 9.30
In total, the nationally designated areas of protection encompass more than 5.5 million hectares in total (marine areas included). 89 percent, or 4.9 million hectares, comprise land areas and inland water. This represents 11 percent of Sweden’s land surface. Including the protection type Natura 2000, protected nature comprises 14 percent of Sweden’s land area, including inland waters.
The growth in designated protected areas (marine and terrestrial) in 2016 was almost 40 000 hectares (Natura 2000 not included). The growth in Natura 2000 areas alone exceeded 1 million hectares. The new areas were located in marine areas in the southern parts of Sweden. A major part was located in the economic zone outside of Sweden’s territorial border.
| Type of protection | Number | Total area, hectares | Land area, hectares | Inland water/sweetwater area, hectare | Share (%) of total land area |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
National parks
|
29 | 739 450 | 631 315 | 62 149 | 1.5 |
|
Nature reserves
|
4 507 | 4 638 018 | 3 804 891 | 302 855 | 9.3 |
|
Nature conservation areas
|
88 | 108 364 | 72 634 | 9 397 | 0.2 |
|
Habitat protection areas in forest land
|
7 743 | 27 447 | 27 386 | 59 | 0.1 |
|
Habitat protection areas, other
|
107 | 277 | 252 | 3 | 0.0 |
|
Total 2016
|
12 474 | 5 512 174 | 4 535 165 | 374 397 | 11.1 |
|
Total 2015
|
12 077 | 5 472 564 | 4 500 533 | 371 077 | 11.0 |
|
Natura 2000
|
4 532 | 7 768 947 | 4 741 707 | 1 086 605 | 11.6 |
|
Natura 2000 areas not included in protection specified above
|
2 981 090 | 698 109 | 686 984 | 1.7 |
Inland water areas are not included in the land area hectares.
Nationally designated areas, most commonly in national parks and nature reserves, are unevenly distributed across the country because of the need to protect large old-growth forest areas in the mountainous region. 80 percent of the nationally designated land area is found in the three northernmost counties. The protected areas in these counties are concentrated in the mountains or along the edge of the mountain range.
Sweden has large areas of protected nature per capita compared with other parts of Europe. On the other hand, if we consider protected nature as a share of total area, many other European countries have protected a greater share of their territories.
Map tool – Protected areas
The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency’s website provides the opportunity to become acquainted with Sweden’s protected areas by using the Protected Areas map tool. You can create your own maps of protected areas for a municipality, a county or for the entire country. You can also look for specific areas and produce a sample based on different data about protected areas, for example by purpose or by year of establishment.
Publication
A more detailed report of this survey is published in a Statistical Report.
Next publishing will be
2018
Statistical Database
More information is available in the Statistical Database
Feel free to use the facts from this statistical news but remember to state Source: Statistics Sweden.