Total | Amphibians | Birds | Fish | Mammals | Reptiles | Vascular Plants
Countries with the most endemic species
Note, this data was last updated May 26, 2025
| Country / territory | Endemic amphibians | % endemic | Endemic birds | % endemic | Endemic mammals | % endemic | Endemic fish | % endemic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil | 854 | 71% | 268 | 15% | 247 | 31% | 409 | 8% |
| Australia | 235 | 92% | 372 | 51% | 287 | 74% | 573 | 11% |
| Indonesia | 234 | 58% | 541 | 31% | 338 | 43% | 142 | 3% |
| United States (USA) | 250 | 72% | 80 | 10% | 125 | 26% | 433 | 9% |
| Mexico | 294 | 70% | 143 | 13% | 207 | 35% | 228 | 8% |
| China | 464 | 72% | 76 | 6% | 155 | 21% | 151 | 4% |
| Madagascar | 425 | 99% | 120 | 48% | 210 | 83% | 84 | 7% |
| Peru | 365 | 54% | 144 | 8% | 87 | 15% | 86 | 5% |
| Colombia | 424 | 51% | 101 | 5% | 62 | 12% | 84 | 4% |
| India | 345 | 75% | 82 | 7% | 43 | 10% | 201 | 7% |
| Philippines | 97 | 84% | 261 | 44% | 149 | 63% | 129 | 3% |
| Papua New Guinea | 340 | 78% | 115 | 16% | 91 | 31% | 73 | 2% |
| Congo-DRC | 51 | 22% | 15 | 1% | 46 | 9% | 374 | 23% |
| Ecuador | 340 | 48% | 45 | 3% | 52 | 12% | 29 | 3% |
| Venezuela | 199 | 54% | 55 | 4% | 31 | 7% | 70 | 4% |
| Tanzania | 91 | 44% | 34 | 3% | 42 | 10% | 108 | 6% |
| Malaysia | 164 | 56% | 13 | 2% | 21 | 6% | 49 | 2% |
| Cameroon | 71 | 32% | 7 | 1% | 21 | 6% | 120 | 11% |
| South Africa | 70 | 53% | 27 | 4% | 38 | 12% | 78 | 4% |
| Japan | 89 | 82% | 26 | 6% | 50 | 32% | 47 | 1% |
| New Zealand | 3 | 38% | 96 | 42% | 4 | 8% | 100 | 9% |
| Argentina | 47 | 26% | 26 | 3% | 88 | 21% | 34 | 3% |
| Malawi | 4 | 5% | 1 | 0% | 2 | 1% | 181 | 37% |
| Sri Lanka | 97 | 87% | 30 | 8% | 21 | 17% | 36 | 3% |
| Vietnam | 135 | 46% | 12 | 1% | 29 | 8% | 0 | 0% |
| Ethiopia | 39 | 51% | 18 | 2% | 56 | 18% | 42 | 24% |
| Cuba | 67 | 94% | 31 | 11% | 23 | 34% | 23 | 2% |
| Bolivia | 76 | 29% | 22 | 2% | 27 | 6% | 13 | 3% |
| Angola | 31 | 28% | 18 | 2% | 12 | 4% | 74 | 7% |
| Myanmar | 36 | 25% | 12 | 1% | 10 | 3% | 58 | 5% |
| Panama | 56 | 24% | 12 | 1% | 17 | 7% | 30 | 2% |
| Costa Rica | 68 | 31% | 15 | 2% | 8 | 3% | 23 | 2% |
| Chile | 35 | 60% | 26 | 6% | 20 | 12% | 25 | 3% |
| Taiwan | 19 | 41% | 33 | 9% | 26 | 25% | 19 | 1% |
| Solomon Islands | 4 | 21% | 70 | 28% | 22 | 28% | 1 | 0% |
| Guatemala | 61 | 37% | 8 | 1% | 13 | 5% | 13 | 1% |
| Gabon | 5 | 5% | 1 | 0% | 3 | 1% | 73 | 8% |
| Kenya | 22 | 19% | 12 | 1% | 15 | 4% | 27 | 2% |
| Honduras | 59 | 40% | 6 | 1% | 9 | 4% | 2 | 0% |
| Turkey (Türkiye) | 12 | 32% | 0 | 0% | 11 | 6% | 53 | 6% |
| Thailand | 41 | 25% | 7 | 1% | 3 | 1% | 21 | 1% |
| Russia | 0 | 0% | 5 | 1% | 22 | 7% | 41 | 4% |
| Jamaica | 21 | 84% | 35 | 17% | 9 | 18% | 3 | 0% |
| Guyana | 32 | 23% | 1 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 21 | 2% |
| Zambia | 3 | 3% | 3 | 0% | 6 | 2% | 42 | 9% |
| Guinea | 9 | 11% | 0 | 0% | 3 | 1% | 38 | 5% |
| Congo | 3 | 4% | 0 | 0% | 5 | 2% | 40 | 5% |
| Mozambique | 8 | 9% | 4 | 1% | 3 | 1% | 32 | 2% |
| New Caledonia | 0 | 30 | 23% | 6 | 16% | 10 | 0% | |
| Fiji | 2 | 67% | 39 | 35% | 1 | 3% | 4 | 0% |
| São Tomé and Príncipe | 9 | 100% | 29 | 31% | 7 | 22% | 0 | 0% |
| Haiti | 28 | 49% | 3 | 1% | 1 | 2% | 12 | 2% |
| Iran | 4 | 17% | 1 | 0% | 13 | 6% | 24 | 3% |
| Pakistan | 2 | 8% | 1 | 0% | 5 | 2% | 31 | 4% |
| South Korea | 11 | 52% | 3 | 1% | 0 | 0% | 25 | 2% |
| Seychelles | 13 | 93% | 16 | 16% | 3 | 10% | 3 | 0% |
| Nigeria | 3 | 3% | 4 | 0% | 5 | 2% | 21 | 3% |
| Micronesia | 0 | 24 | 19% | 3 | 13% | 6 | 0% | |
| Greece | 3 | 11% | 0 | 0% | 4 | 3% | 25 | 4% |
| Italy | 13 | 28% | 1 | 0% | 7 | 5% | 10 | 1% |
| Dominican Republic | 19 | 38% | 3 | 1% | 1 | 2% | 8 | 1% |
| Somalia | 4 | 11% | 10 | 2% | 7 | 4% | 8 | 1% |
| Morocco | 0 | 0% | 3 | 1% | 4 | 3% | 18 | 2% |
| Cape Verde (Cape Verde) | 0 | 8 | 9% | 0 | 0% | 17 | 2% | |
| Uganda | 0 | 0% | 1 | 0% | 2 | 1% | 21 | 7% |
| Suriname | 10 | 8% | 0 | 0% | 2 | 1% | 12 | 1% |
| Puerto Rico | 0 | 19 | 8% | 3 | 7% | 2 | 0% | |
| Comoros | 0 | 21 | 21% | 3 | 8% | 0 | 0% | |
| Laos | 14 | 13% | 2 | 0% | 5 | 2% | 2 | 0% |
| Nicaragua | 6 | 8% | 7 | 1% | 3 | 1% | 6 | 1% |
| French Guiana | 14 | 12% | 1 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 6 | 1% |
| Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) | 8 | 10% | 0 | 0% | 1 | 0% | 12 | 2% |
| Spain | 5 | 13% | 9 | 2% | 1 | 1% | 6 | 1% |
| Mauritius | 0 | 0% | 15 | 19% | 1 | 4% | 5 | 0% |
| Nepal | 12 | 20% | 2 | 0% | 2 | 1% | 4 | 2% |
| Namibia | 4 | 9% | 7 | 1% | 3 | 1% | 6 | 1% |
| Ghana | 9 | 10% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 9 | 1% |
| Algeria | 0 | 0% | 2 | 1% | 3 | 3% | 13 | 3% |
| Bahamas | 0 | 0% | 12 | 5% | 2 | 5% | 4 | 0% |
| Palau | 0 | 15 | 13% | 2 | 8% | 1 | 0% | |
| Central African Republic | 3 | 5% | 0 | 0% | 2 | 1% | 12 | 6% |
| Equatorial Guinea | 0 | 0% | 4 | 1% | 3 | 2% | 10 | 2% |
| Uruguay | 2 | 4% | 8 | 2% | 4 | 3% | 3 | 0% |
| Sudan | 0 | 0% | 1 | 0% | 7 | 3% | 8 | 2% |
| Sierra Leone | 2 | 3% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 14 | 2% |
| Yemen | 0 | 0% | 10 | 3% | 3 | 3% | 3 | 0% |
| Vanuatu | 0 | 11 | 12% | 2 | 6% | 3 | 0% | |
| Cambodia | 9 | 16% | 2 | 0% | 1 | 0% | 1 | 0% |
| Canada | 0 | 0% | 7 | 1% | 5 | 2% | 1 | 0% |
| Liberia | 5 | 8% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 8 | 1% |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 7 | 18% | 3 | 1% | 1 | 1% | 2 | 0% |
| Andaman and Nicobar Islands | 0 | 0 | 13 | 38% | ||||
| Paraguay | 0 | 0% | 4 | 1% | 2 | 1% | 6 | 2% |
| Bangladesh | 8 | 18% | 3 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 1 | 0% |
| Switzerland | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 12 | 10% |
| Tonga | 0 | 4 | 8% | 0 | 0% | 8 | 1% | |
| Burundi | 2 | 7% | 2 | 0% | 1 | 1% | 6 | 2% |
| Rwanda | 2 | 5% | 2 | 0% | 2 | 1% | 5 | 6% |
| France | 3 | 7% | 2 | 1% | 1 | 1% | 5 | 1% |
| Oman | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 11 | 1% |
| Portugal | 3 | 13% | 7 | 2% | 0 | 0% | 1 | 0% |
| United Kingdom | 0 | 0% | 2 | 1% | 0 | 0% | 9 | 2% |
| Northern Mariana Islands | 0 | 11 | 10% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | |
| Guam | 0 | 0% | 8 | 8% | 1 | 4% | 1 | 0% |
| Saint Helena | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 9 | 5% | |
| Croatia | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 8 | 2% |
| Libya | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 7 | 8% | 1 | 0% |
| Falkland Islands (Malvinas) | 0 | 6 | 5% | 1 | 3% | 1 | 1% | |
| Réunion | 0 | 0 | 0% | 2 | 8% | 6 | 1% | |
| El Salvador | 0 | 0% | 6 | 1% | 0 | 0% | 1 | 0% |
| Cyprus | 2 | 50% | 2 | 1% | 3 | 7% | 0 | 0% |
| Marshall Islands | 0 | 6 | 10% | 0 | 0% | 1 | 0% | |
| French Polynesia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | 7 | 1% | ||
| Galápagos Islands | 0 | 0 | 7 | 44% | ||||
| Belize | 0 | 0% | 4 | 1% | 0 | 0% | 2 | 0% |
| Kazakhstan | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 5 | 3% | 1 | 1% |
| Mongolia | 0 | 0% | 1 | 0% | 1 | 1% | 4 | 5% |
| Germany | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 6 | 2% |
| Cayman Islands | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 2 | 6% | 4 | 1% |
| Saint Lucia | 0 | 0% | 5 | 3% | 1 | 3% | 0 | 0% |
| Bermuda | 0 | 1 | 1% | 0 | 0% | 5 | 1% | |
| Zimbabwe | 3 | 5% | 1 | 0% | 1 | 0% | 0 | 0% |
| Egypt | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 2 | 2% | 3 | 0% |
| Saudi Arabia | 0 | 0% | 1 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 4 | 0% |
| Romania | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 2 | 2% | 3 | 1% |
| South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 5 | 7% | |
| South Sudan | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 2 | 1% | 2 | 2% |
| Togo | 2 | 6% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 2 | 0% |
| Bhutan | 2 | 5% | 1 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 1 | 2% |
| North Korea | 0 | 0% | 2 | 1% | 1 | 1% | 1 | 0% |
| Israel | 2 | 20% | 1 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 1 | 0% |
| Ireland | 0 | 0% | 1 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 3 | 1% |
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 0 | 0% | 2 | 1% | 2 | 6% | 0 | 0% |
| Senegal | 0 | 0% | 2 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 1 | 0% |
| Mali | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 1 | 1% | 2 | 1% |
| Burkina Faso | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 3 | 2% |
| Ukraine | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 2 | 2% | 1 | 0% |
| Armenia | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 2 | 2% | 1 | 2% |
| Austria | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 3 | 3% |
| Dominica | 0 | 0% | 3 | 2% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% |
| Timor-Leste (East Timor) | 0 | 1 | 0% | 1 | 2% | 1 | 0% | |
| Samoa | 0 | 0 | 0% | 3 | 12% | 0 | 0% | |
| Wallis and Futuna | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 3 | 1% | |
| Christmas Island | 0 | 0 | 0% | 3 | 17% | 0 | 0% | |
| Pitcairn | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 3 | 1% | |
| Benin | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 2 | 0% |
| Brunei | 0 | 0% | 1 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 1 | 0% |
| Afghanistan | 0 | 0% | 1 | 0% | 1 | 1% | 0 | 0% |
| Mauritania | 0 | 0% | 1 | 0% | 1 | 1% | 0 | 0% |
| Iraq | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 1 | 1% | 1 | 0% |
| Eritrea | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 2 | 1% |
| Bulgaria | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 1 | 1% | 1 | 0% |
| Jordan | 0 | 0% | 1 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 1 | 0% |
| Sweden | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 2 | 1% |
| Martinique | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 2 | 6% | 0 | 0% |
| Guadeloupe | 2 | 29% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% |
| Barbados | 0 | 0% | 1 | 1% | 1 | 3% | 0 | 0% |
| Grenada | 0 | 0% | 1 | 1% | 1 | 2% | 0 | 0% |
| Iceland | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 2 | 1% | |
| Mayotte | 2 | 67% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% |
| Maldives | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 2 | 0% |
| Canary Islands | 0 | 0 | 2 | 11% |
Source: Plant data is from the World Conservation Monitoring Centre of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP-WCMC), 2004. Species Data. Fish: Fishbase; Birds: Birdlife International; Amphibians: AmphibiaWeb; Mammals: IUCN; Reptiles: the Reptile Database.
Endemism by country
One especially meaningful metric for measuring biodiversity is endemism—the proportion of species in a given area that are found nowhere else. Endemic species often evolve in isolation, shaped by unique geographies and ecological niches. Their presence indicates not just richness but irreplaceability. Losing them means global extinction, not just local disappearance.This analysis ranks countries based on endemism across four groups—amphibians, birds, and mammals. It finds that islands and island continents dominate. Madagascar tops the list, with 81% of its amphibian, bird, and mammal species found nowhere else. Australia (65%) and the Philippines (53%) follow closely, trailed by Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Brazil.
Other notable entries include New Zealand, Cuba, the Solomon Islands, and even the United States—thanks in part to Hawaii, which hosts a wealth of endemic birds and insects. Mexico, China, Sri Lanka, and India also make strong showings, reinforcing their reputations as biodiversity hotspots. But it’s not just size that matters; isolation and habitat variety also play major roles.
Countries/territories ranked by their percentage of endemic species
| Country / territory | Endemic species (amphibians, birds, fish, mammals) | All species (amphibians, birds, fish, mammals) | % endemic | Endemic species (amphibians, birds, fish, mammals) | All species (amphibians, birds, fish, mammals) | % endemic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Madagascar | 839 | 2,210 | 38% | 755 | 928 | 81% |
| Australia | 1,467 | 6,627 | 22% | 894 | 1,372 | 65% |
| Philippines | 636 | 4,745 | 13% | 507 | 948 | 53% |
| Indonesia | 1,255 | 8,040 | 16% | 1,113 | 2,941 | 38% |
| Papua New Guinea | 619 | 4,479 | 14% | 546 | 1,471 | 37% |
| Brazil | 1,778 | 8,825 | 20% | 1,369 | 3,798 | 36% |
| New Zealand | 203 | 1,454 | 14% | 103 | 286 | 36% |
| São Tomé and Príncipe | 45 | 511 | 9% | 45 | 135 | 33% |
| Mexico | 872 | 4,795 | 18% | 644 | 2,103 | 31% |
| Fiji | 46 | 1,517 | 3% | 42 | 143 | 29% |
| Cuba | 144 | 1,596 | 9% | 121 | 432 | 28% |
| Solomon Islands | 97 | 1,366 | 7% | 96 | 346 | 28% |
| United States (USA) | 888 | 6,680 | 13% | 455 | 1,650 | 28% |
| China | 846 | 6,550 | 13% | 695 | 2,653 | 26% |
| Sri Lanka | 184 | 1,815 | 10% | 148 | 609 | 24% |
| Japan | 212 | 5,088 | 4% | 165 | 705 | 23% |
| Jamaica | 68 | 931 | 7% | 65 | 281 | 23% |
| Seychelles | 35 | 1,417 | 2% | 32 | 141 | 23% |
| India | 671 | 5,063 | 13% | 470 | 2,108 | 22% |
| New Caledonia | 46 | 2,684 | 2% | 36 | 167 | 22% |
| Peru | 682 | 4,797 | 14% | 596 | 3,118 | 19% |
| Colombia | 671 | 5,454 | 12% | 587 | 3,244 | 18% |
| Micronesia | 33 | 1,414 | 2% | 27 | 151 | 18% |
| Comoros | 24 | 710 | 3% | 24 | 136 | 18% |
| Ecuador | 466 | 3,944 | 12% | 437 | 2,789 | 16% |
| Mauritius | 21 | 1,296 | 2% | 16 | 107 | 15% |
| Taiwan | 97 | 3,756 | 3% | 78 | 525 | 15% |
| Malaysia | 247 | 3,449 | 7% | 198 | 1,375 | 14% |
| Venezuela | 355 | 3,976 | 9% | 285 | 2,168 | 13% |
| Chile | 106 | 1,468 | 7% | 81 | 647 | 13% |
| Vietnam | 176 | 4,148 | 4% | 176 | 1,486 | 12% |
| South Africa | 213 | 3,414 | 6% | 135 | 1,217 | 11% |
| Argentina | 195 | 2,727 | 7% | 161 | 1,591 | 10% |
| Tanzania | 275 | 3,567 | 8% | 167 | 1,687 | 10% |
| Ethiopia | 155 | 1,394 | 11% | 113 | 1,216 | 9% |
| Haiti | 44 | 893 | 5% | 32 | 358 | 9% |
| Puerto Rico | 24 | 1,104 | 2% | 22 | 280 | 8% |
| Guatemala | 95 | 2,034 | 5% | 82 | 1,112 | 7% |
| Costa Rica | 114 | 2,474 | 5% | 91 | 1,321 | 7% |
| Honduras | 76 | 2,158 | 4% | 74 | 1,097 | 7% |
| Cameroon | 219 | 2,593 | 8% | 99 | 1,485 | 7% |
| Cape Verde (Cape Verde) | 25 | 841 | 3% | 8 | 120 | 7% |
| Dominican Republic | 31 | 885 | 4% | 23 | 348 | 7% |
| Panama | 115 | 2,852 | 4% | 85 | 1,378 | 6% |
| Congo-DRC | 486 | 3,459 | 14% | 112 | 1,853 | 6% |
| Bolivia | 138 | 2,565 | 5% | 125 | 2,125 | 6% |