Megadiverse countries Facts for Kids

The 17 countries identified as megadiverse by Conservation International

The term megadiverse country refers to any one of a group of nations that harbor the majority of Earth's species and high numbers of endemic species. Conservation International identified 17 megadiverse countries in 1998. Many of them are located in, or partially in, tropical or subtropical regions.

Megadiversity means exhibiting great biodiversity. The main criterion for megadiverse countries is endemism at the level of species, genera and families. A megadiverse country must have at least 5,000 species of endemic plants and must border marine ecosystems.

In 2002, Mexico formed a separate organization focusing on Like-Minded Megadiverse Countries, consisting of countries rich in biological diversity and associated traditional knowledge. This organization includes all but three megadiverse countries as identified by Conservation International.

List of megadiverse countries
List of most biodiverse countries 2022
Cancún initiative and declaration of like-minded megadiverse countries
- List of current member countries
See also

List of megadiverse countries

In alphabetical order, the 17 megadiverse countries are:

List of most biodiverse countries 2022

TOP 20 Global Biodiversity Index
Country (or dependent territory)	Bird	Amphibian	Fish	Mammal	Reptile	Vascular Plant	Biodiversity Index
Brazil	1,816	1,141	4,738	693	847	34,387	512.34
Indonesia	1,723	383	4,813	729	773	19,232	418.78
Colombia	1,863	812	2,105	477	634	24,025	369.76
China	1,285	540	3,476	622	554	31,362	365.84
Mexico	1,105	411	2,629	533	988	23,385	342.47
Australia	725	245	4,992	355	1,131	19,324	337.18
Peru	1,861	655	1,583	490	510	19,812	330.12
India	1,212	446	2,601	440	715	15,000	301.63
Ecuador	1,629	659	1,111	392	492	18,466	291.58
United States	844	326	3,081	531	556	15,500	280.13
Venezuela	1,386	365	1,735	376	419	30,000	273.39
Papua New Guinea	743	416	2,884	282	384	13,634	226.57
Myanmar	1,034	540	1,088	304	364	16,000	221.77
Vietnam	835	263	2,423	313	512	8,500	216.97
Malaysia	721	278	1,951	348	502	14,030	214.71
Democratic Republic of the Congo	1,110	227	1,528	465	313	8,860	214.43
Tanzania	1,074	207	1,773	412	346	10,100	213.10
Bolivia	1,435	259	407	382	315	14,729	209.55
South Africa	762	132	2,094	331	421	21,250	207.94
Thailand	936	153	2,150	314	468	6,600	200.77

Cancún initiative and declaration of like-minded megadiverse countries

The 20 current like-minded megadiverse countries

On 18 February 2002, the Ministers in charge of the Environment and the Delegates of Brazil, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, Peru, the Philippines, South Africa and Venezuela assembled in Cancún, Mexico. These countries declared to set up a Group of Like-Minded Megadiverse Countries as a mechanism for consultation and cooperation so that their interests and priorities, related to the preservation and sustainable use of biological diversity, could be promoted. They also declared that they would call on those countries that had not become Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, and the Kyoto Protocol on climate change to become parties to these agreements.

At the same time, they agreed to meet periodically, at the ministerial and expert levels, and decided that upon the conclusion of each annual Ministerial Meeting, the next rotating host country would take on the role of Secretary of the group, to ensure its continuity, the further development of cooperation among these countries, and to reach the various agreements and objectives. Later, in 2010, Guatemala and Iran were also included in the list.