Environment > Wetlands of intl importance > Area: Countries Compared

Author: Ian Graham, Staff Editor

The Pantanal is the largest continental wetland in the world, covering 130,357 square kilometers in Brazil, Paraguay and Bolivia. Its 175 piranha-infested rivers are home to 10 million cayman crocodiles and 600,000 capybara, the worldâ€™s largest rodents. 50 species of reptiles, 190 mammal species including jaguar and howler monkeys, more than 1000 species of butterflies, and 658 bird species live in the area. <p>A UN report on the wetlands says 85 percent of the rich, fragile ecosystem could be wiped out if the earthâ€™s temperature rises by three or four degrees Celsius. <p>The area is also under threat from industrial development. The region has some of the largest reserves of magnesium and iron ore in the world and the stateâ€™s governor is proposing the building of a steel mill and the fivefold increase of iron ore extraction.

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DEFINITION: Wetlands of international importance 2002.

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#	COUNTRY	AMOUNT	DATE
1	CanadaCanada	13,052 thousand hectares	2002
2	RussiaRussia	10,324 thousand hectares	2002
3	BotswanaBotswana	6,864 thousand hectares	2002
4	PeruPeru	6,759 thousand hectares	2002
5	BrazilBrazil	6,346 thousand hectares	2002
6	BoliviaBolivia	5,504 thousand hectares	2002
7	GuineaGuinea	4,779 thousand hectares	2002
8	ArgentinaArgentina	2,670 thousand hectares	2002
9	ChinaChina	2,548 thousand hectares	2002
	Group of 7 countries (G7) averageGroup of 7 countries (G7) average (profile)	2,408.86 thousand hectares	2002
10	DenmarkDenmark	2,283 thousand hectares	2002
11	AlgeriaAlgeria	1,866 thousand hectares	2002
12	ChadChad	1,843 thousand hectares	2002
	Non-religious countries averageNon-religious countries average (profile)	1,613.82 thousand hectares	2002
	Emerging markets averageEmerging markets average (profile)	1,366.48 thousand hectares	2002
13	MauritaniaMauritania	1,231 thousand hectares	2002
14	United StatesUnited States	1,190 thousand hectares	2002
	Former Spanish colonies averageFormer Spanish colonies average (profile)	1,182.47 thousand hectares	2002
15	MexicoMexico	1,157 thousand hectares	2002
16	GabonGabon	1,080 thousand hectares	2002
17	United KingdomUnited Kingdom	855 thousand hectares	2002
18	GermanyGermany	829 thousand hectares	2002
19	FranceFrance	795 thousand hectares	2002
	NATO countries averageNATO average (profile)	780.15 thousand hectares	2002
20	ParaguayParaguay	775 thousand hectares	2002
	High income OECD countries averageHigh income OECD countries average (profile)	763.18 thousand hectares	2002
21	UkraineUkraine	716 thousand hectares	2002
22	NigerNiger	715 thousand hectares	2002
23	RomaniaRomania	665 thousand hectares	2002
24	MongoliaMongolia	631 thousand hectares	2002
25	NamibiaNamibia	630 thousand hectares	2002
26	BangladeshBangladesh	606 thousand hectares	2002
27	Papua New GuineaPapua NG	595 thousand hectares	2002
28	SwedenSweden	515 thousand hectares	2002
29	GuatemalaGuatemala	503 thousand hectares	2002
30	South AfricaSouth Africa	499 thousand hectares	2002
31	ArmeniaArmenia	492 thousand hectares	2002
32	CubaCuba	452 thousand hectares	2002
=33	ColombiaColombia	439 thousand hectares	2002
=33	Democratic Republic of the CongoCongo, DR.	439 thousand hectares	2002
35	UruguayUruguay	407 thousand hectares	2002
36	NicaraguaNicaragua	406 thousand hectares	2002
37	ZambiaZambia	333 thousand hectares	2002
38	NetherlandsNetherlands	327 thousand hectares	2002
39	Costa RicaCosta Rica	313 thousand hectares	2002
	European Union averageEuropean Union average (profile)	310.52 thousand hectares	2002
40	Burkina FasoBurkina Faso	299 thousand hectares	2002
41	Sierra LeoneSierra Leone	295 thousand hectares	2002
42	PakistanPakistan	284 thousand hectares	2002
43	VenezuelaVenezuela	264 thousand hectares	2002
44	IndonesiaIndonesia	243 thousand hectares	2002
45	MalawiMalawi	225 thousand hectares	2002
46	EstoniaEstonia	216 thousand hectares	2002
47	BelarusBelarus	204 thousand hectares	2002
	Eurozone averageEurozone average (profile)	201.73 thousand hectares	2002
48	IndiaIndia	195 thousand hectares	2002
49	TogoTogo	194 thousand hectares	2002
50	GhanaGhana	178 thousand hectares	2002
51	HondurasHonduras	172 thousand hectares	2002
52	GreeceGreece	164 thousand hectares	2002
53	MaliMali	162 thousand hectares	2002
54	TurkeyTurkey	159 thousand hectares	2002
55	SpainSpain	158 thousand hectares	2002
56	HungaryHungary	154 thousand hectares	2002
=57	FinlandFinland	139 thousand hectares	2002
=57	BeninBenin	139 thousand hectares	2002
59	ThailandThailand	132 thousand hectares	2002
60	AustriaAustria	118 thousand hectares	2002
61	PanamaPanama	111 thousand hectares	2002
62	EgyptEgypt	106 thousand hectares	2002
=63	SenegalSenegal	100 thousand hectares	2002
=63	AzerbaijanAzerbaijan	100 thousand hectares	2002
=63	ChileChile	100 thousand hectares	2002
66	TajikistanTajikistan	95 thousand hectares	2002
67	KenyaKenya	91 thousand hectares	2002
68	PolandPoland	90 thousand hectares	2002
69	JapanJapan	84 thousand hectares	2002
70	CroatiaCroatia	80 thousand hectares	2002
71	NorwayNorway	70 thousand hectares	2002
72	PhilippinesPhilippines	68 thousand hectares	2002
73	IrelandIreland	67 thousand hectares	2002
74	PortugalPortugal	66 thousand hectares	2002
75	IcelandIceland	59 thousand hectares	2002
76	NigeriaNigeria	58 thousand hectares	2002
77	ItalyItaly	57 thousand hectares	2002
78	CambodiaCambodia	55 thousand hectares	2002
79	MadagascarMadagascar	53 thousand hectares	2002
80	LithuaniaLithuania	50 thousand hectares	2002
81	LatviaLatvia	43 thousand hectares	2002
82	Czech RepublicCzech Republic	42 thousand hectares	2002
83	Serbia and MontenegroSerbia+	40 thousand hectares	2002
=84	New ZealandNew Zealand	39 thousand hectares	2002
=84	Guinea-BissauGuinea-Bissau	39 thousand hectares	2002
=86	SlovakiaSlovakia	38 thousand hectares	2002
=86	MalaysiaMalaysia	38 thousand hectares	2002
88	GeorgiaGeorgia	34 thousand hectares	2002
=89	The GambiaThe Gambia	20 thousand hectares	2002
=89	AlbaniaAlbania	20 thousand hectares	2002
=91	Republic of MacedoniaMacedonia Rep.	19 thousand hectares	2002
=91	Cote d'IvoireCote d'Ivoire	19 thousand hectares	2002
93	NepalNepal	18 thousand hectares	2002
94	UgandaUganda	15 thousand hectares	2002
95	MoroccoMorocco	14 thousand hectares	2002
96	TunisiaTunisia	13 thousand hectares	2002
=97	SurinameSuriname	12 thousand hectares	2002
=97	VietnamVietnam	12 thousand hectares	2002
=99	BelgiumBelgium	8 thousand hectares	2002
=99	Sri LankaSri Lanka	8 thousand hectares	2002
=101	Bosnia and HerzegovinaBosnia and Herzegovina	7 thousand hectares	2002
=101	BelizeBelize	7 thousand hectares	2002
=101	JordanJordan	7 thousand hectares	2002
=101	SwitzerlandSwitzerland	7 thousand hectares	2002
=105	Trinidad and TobagoTrinidad+	6 thousand hectares	2002
=105	JamaicaJamaica	6 thousand hectares	2002
107	BulgariaBulgaria	3 thousand hectares	2002
108	El SalvadorEl Salvador	2 thousand hectares	2002
=109	LebanonLebanon	1 thousand hectares	2002
=109	SloveniaSlovenia	1 thousand hectares	2002
=109	BurundiBurundi	1 thousand hectares	2002
112	IsraelIsrael	0.0	2002

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