How many square kilometres does UNESCO’s Phoenix Islands Protected Area cover?

UNESCO’s Phoenix Islands Protected Area covers 408,250 square kilometres.

The protected area surrounds the Phoenix Islands, an archipelago of Kiribati in the central Pacific Ocean. It includes islands, coral reefs, deep ocean habitats, lagoons, seamounts, and marine ecosystems. The area is one of the largest protected marine areas associated with a World Heritage Site.

Its importance comes from the relative remoteness and ecological condition of the region. The reefs support coral communities, fish, seabirds, turtles, and other marine life. The site also preserves a large-scale ocean environment rather than a single famous monument or settlement.

The Phoenix Islands Protected Area was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2010. Its size is sometimes confused with the area of the islands themselves, but the UNESCO figure includes a vast surrounding marine zone. Kiribati later changed the management of parts of its ocean territory, yet the World Heritage Site remains a major reference point for Pacific marine conservation.