The United Nations List of Protected Areas (hereafter referred to as ‘the UN List’) is a list of terrestrial, coastal and marine protected areas designated by governments around the world. Since its initial publication in 1961/62, successive editions of the UN List have documented the evolution and expansion of the global network of protected areas. This new edition of the UN List provides an updated picture of the global protected area estate as it stands in July 2018. Progress achieved since 2014 in expanding the coverage of protected areas in the marine and terrestrial realms is reviewed, and for the first time information on the management effectiveness of these areas is included. This UN List, together with the Protected Planet Report 2018, provides the most comprehensive picture of the status and trends of the global protected area network worldwide.