World Heritage Site facts for kids
Quick facts for kids 
The World Heritage emblem, used to identify properties protected by the World Heritage Convention
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| Formation | 1978 |
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| Founded at | Galápagos Islands |
| Type | UNESCO Landmarks and areas legal protection and sites listing agency |
| Purpose | UNESCO landmarks and areas protection |
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Region served
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Worldwide |
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Main organ
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UNESCO |
World Heritage Sites are special places around the world. They can be landmarks, buildings, or natural areas. They are protected by an international agreement managed by UNESCO. These places are chosen because they are very important for their culture, history, or science. They are considered to have "outstanding value to humanity."
To become a World Heritage Site, a country suggests a place. Then, the World Heritage Committee at UNESCO decides if it's truly special. It must be unique and important for its culture or nature. It also needs to be legally protected. These sites can be many things. They include ancient ruins, historic buildings, cities, deserts, forests, islands, lakes, mountains, or wild areas.
A World Heritage Site can show amazing things people have built or created. Or, it can be a place of incredible natural beauty. As of July 2025, there are 1,223 World Heritage Sites. These include 952 cultural sites, 231 natural sites, and 40 mixed sites. They are found in 168 countries. Italy has the most sites with 60. China is next with 59, and Germany has 54.
These sites are meant to be protected for the future. Without protection, they could be damaged by people, animals, or lack of care. UNESCO marks these places as protected zones. The World Heritage Sites list is managed by the World Heritage Program. This program is run by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee. This committee has 21 member countries. Experts in history, culture, and nature help advise them.
The program lists, names, and helps save sites that are very important. These sites are part of our shared human culture and natural world. The program started with an agreement called the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage. This agreement was made by UNESCO on November 16, 1972. Since then, 196 countries have agreed to follow it. This makes it a very popular and important international agreement.
Contents
The Story of World Heritage Sites
How It All Started
The idea for World Heritage Sites began in the 1950s. Egypt planned to build a new dam called the Aswan High Dam. This dam would create a huge lake. This lake would cover many ancient treasures in the Nile valley. These treasures were from ancient Egypt and Nubia. In 1959, Egypt and Sudan asked UNESCO for help. They wanted to save these important monuments.
In 1960, UNESCO started a big project. It was called the International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia. This project helped dig up and record many sites. Thousands of objects were saved. Several important temples were moved to higher ground. The most famous temples saved were Abu Simbel and Philae. This project finished in 1980 and was a big success. Egypt even gave four temples to countries that helped. For example, the Temple of Dendur went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. The project cost a lot of money, but 50 countries helped pay. This success showed that countries could work together. It led to other projects, like saving Venice and its lagoon in Italy. After this, UNESCO started working on a new agreement. This agreement would help protect cultural places all over the world.
The Big Agreement
The main agreement for World Heritage Sites is called the World Heritage Convention. It took seven years to create, from 1965 to 1972. The United States first suggested the idea. In 1965, they talked about a "World Heritage Trust." This trust would save amazing natural and historic places for everyone. The International Union for Conservation of Nature also had similar ideas. These ideas were shared at a big meeting in 1972. Countries that sign this agreement must report regularly. They tell the World Heritage Committee how they are protecting their sites.
Finally, everyone agreed on one document. The Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage was officially accepted by UNESCO on November 16, 1972. This agreement became active on December 17, 1975. As of July 2025, 196 countries have agreed to follow it. This includes most countries in the United Nations. Only one UN member country, Liechtenstein, has not yet signed this important agreement.
Why Protect These Sites?
By assigning places as World Heritage Sites, UNESCO wants to help preserve them for future generations. They believe these places are a gift from the past. They are also important for our lives and ideas today. UNESCO has several goals for World Heritage. They want countries and local people to help protect these sites. They also offer help if a site is in danger. UNESCO provides training and helps spread awareness about these special places.
Being a World Heritage Site brings many good things. The site gets worldwide attention and legal protection. It can also get money from the World Heritage Fund to help with its care. UNESCO has helped restore many sites. Some success stories include Angkor in Cambodia and the Old City of Dubrovnik in Croatia. The Wieliczka Salt Mine in Poland and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area in Tanzania are also examples. More tourists often visit these sites. This helps the local people living nearby. Sometimes, places where people and nature have worked together are called "cultural landscapes."
How a Place Becomes a World Heritage Site
A country must first identify its significant cultural and natural sites. They put these on a "Tentative List." Next, they choose a site from that list to nominate. They prepare a detailed "Nomination File." Experts from two groups, the International Council on Monuments and Sites and the World Conservation Union, review this file. They give advice to the World Heritage Committee. The Committee meets once a year. They decide which new places to add to the list. Sometimes, they ask for more information. A site must meet at least one of ten special rules to be chosen.
What Makes a Site Special?
Until 2004, there were different rules for cultural and natural heritage. In 2005, UNESCO changed these rules. Now, there is one set of ten rules. Nominated sites must be "super important for everyone." They need to meet at least one of these ten rules.
Cultural Sites
Cultural sites show human creativity and history. Here are some reasons a cultural site might be chosen:
- It's a masterpiece of human genius.
- It shows a big exchange of ideas over time. This could be in buildings, technology, or art.
- It's a unique example of a culture or civilization. This could be one that still exists or one that is gone.
- It's an amazing example of a building or landscape. It shows an important time in human history.
- It's a great example of how people lived or used land or sea. This is especially true if it's now in danger.
- It's directly linked to important events, traditions, or ideas. This includes great art or books.
Natural Sites
Natural sites show the beauty and power of our planet. Here are some reasons a natural site might be chosen:
- It has amazing natural features or incredible natural beauty.
- It shows important stages of Earth's history. This includes how landforms were made.
- It's a great example of how plants and animals live and grow. This includes land, water, and ocean environments.
- It has the most important natural homes for many different plants and animals. This includes places with endangered species.
Updating Site Information
Countries can ask to change details about their World Heritage Sites. They might want to make the protected area bigger or smaller. They could also ask to change the site's official name. If a big change is planned, it goes through a process like a new nomination. Smaller changes are also reviewed by experts. The committee decides if the changes are approved.
When Sites Are in Danger
A site can be put on the List of World Heritage in Danger if it's at risk. This means something is threatening what makes it special. Dangers can include natural disasters like floods or earthquakes. They can also be caused by human activities. This includes pollution, illegal hunting (poaching), or too much building. This "danger list" helps tell the world about these threats. It encourages people to take action to save the sites.
The committee checks sites on the danger list every year. They might ask for more help to protect the site. If the danger is gone, the site can be removed from the danger list. But if a site is too damaged or no longer protected, it can be removed from the World Heritage List completely. Only three sites have ever been removed from the list. These are the Arabian Oryx Sanctuary in Oman, the Dresden Elbe Valley in Germany, and the Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City in the United Kingdom.
The Arabian Oryx Sanctuary was removed in 2007. This happened because the government greatly reduced its protected area. The Dresden Elbe Valley was put on the danger list in 2006. Plans for a new bridge would change the valley's look too much. Even though the city tried to stop it, the bridge was built. So, the valley was removed from the list in 2009. Liverpool's status was removed in July 2021. New buildings near its historic docks changed the site too much. These changes caused a permanent loss of its historical features.
A study looked at dangers to natural World Heritage Sites. It found that 63% of sites have been harmed by human activities. This includes new roads, farms, and towns built nearby. These activities put the sites' special values at risk. For natural sites with forests, 91% have lost some forest since 2000. Many sites need urgent help to be saved.
Sometimes, important cultural places are damaged during conflicts. To prevent this, the UN, United Nations peacekeeping, and UNESCO work with Blue Shield International. They try to protect cultural sites from harm. They also create "no strike lists" to keep cultural places safe during air strikes. Karl von Habsburg, who helped start Blue Shield International, said it best: "Without the local community and without the local participants, that would be completely impossible." This means local people are key to protecting these sites.
World Heritage Sites by the Numbers
The World Heritage Committee divides the world into five main areas. These are Africa, Arab states, Asia and the Pacific, Europe and North America, and Latin America and the Caribbean. For example, Russia is grouped with Europe. Mexico and the Caribbean are with Latin America. Sometimes, these groups are based on how countries work together, not just where they are on a map. For instance, Gough Island is in the South Atlantic. But it's in the Europe and North America group because the British government nominated the site.
Here is a look at the sites by region, as of July 2025:
| Region | Cultural | Natural | Mixed | Total | Percentage | States parties with inscribed properties |
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| Africa | 61 | 42 | 5 | 108 | 8.8% | 36 |
| Arab states | 87 | 6 | 3 | 96 | 7.8% | 18 |
| Asia and the Pacific | 211 | 73 | 12 | 296 | 24.2% | 36 |
| Europe and North America | 490 | 71 | 12 | 573 | 46.9% | 50 |
| Latin America and the Caribbean | 103 | 39 | 8 | 150 | 12.3% | 28 |
| Total | 952 | 231 | 40 | 1,223 | 100% | 168 |
Countries with Many Sites
This overview lists the 23 countries with 15 or more World Heritage Sites:
See also
In Spanish: Patrimonio de la Humanidad para niños
- GoUNESCO – an effort to help people learn about and get involved with heritage
- Index of conservation articles
- Lists of World Heritage Sites
- Former UNESCO World Heritage Sites
- Memory of the World Programme
- UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists
- Ramsar Convention – an international agreement about protecting wetlands
