4. China
Total – 59
The second largest country by size, but the most populous in the world, with close to 1.4 billion people, China which ranks 4th in our list of most biodiverse countries in the world also has an extremely diverse flora and fauna. In fact, over 146,000 species of plants can be found on its territory, found especially in the subtropical forests on its territory. Over 30,000 of these plant species are endemic to China, representing about one-eighth of the total number of plant species in the world.
China is also home to over 1,200 types of birds, as well as 580 mammals, over 280 species of amphibians and some 376 species of reptiles. There are 2,158 protected areas across China’s vast territory, covering 17.1% of the terrestrial area and 3.8 percent of the marine area.
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