Wild species’ population sizes fell by 73% on average between 1970 and 2022, according to WWF’s Living Planet Report 2026. The edition, released this week, pairs that long-running warning with documented recoveries, including a rise of more than 70% in wild tiger numbers over the past 15 years.
What the 73% figure means
The number comes from the Living Planet Index, compiled by the Zoological Society of London. It draws on monitoring data from 35,803 populations and 5,790 species of amphibians, birds, fishes, mammals and reptiles.
It is easy to misread. The index does not say that 73% of animals have died. A 2024 explainer from Our World in Data notes that the index does not give the number of species, populations or individuals lost, or the number of extinctions. It measures the average change in the size of the populations scientists have monitored. A typical monitored population is therefore far smaller than it was in 1970.
The losses are uneven:
- Latin America and the Caribbean have seen the steepest regional fall (95%), followed by Africa (80%) and Asia–Pacific (49%).
- By ecosystem, freshwater populations have fallen 85%, terrestrial 69% and marine 59%.
- Among reported threats, habitat loss and degradation are most common, followed by overexploitation, climate change, pollution, invasive species and disease.
Andrew Terry, chief conservation officer at ZSL, described the index as an early warning signal that the ecosystems supporting these species are degrading.
Signs of recovery
This edition is subtitled “The Science of Hope”. It notes that many African elephant populations are stable or growing, and that green sea turtles and Atlantic bluefin tuna are no longer listed as Endangered. The report says each recovery took decades of sustained effort.
Mike Barrett, WWF’s chief scientific advisor and the report’s lead author, said: “We can still end the loss of nature and indeed reverse it.” The report also stresses what it calls positive tipping points. Earlier editions focused on negative tipping points, the thresholds beyond which ecosystems can slip into a degraded state that is hard to reverse. This edition looks instead at changes that could speed recovery.
What this means for India
The sources I found give no separate India figure from the index. Asia–Pacific’s 49% fall is a regional average. India does feature in the report’s recovery story, though, through tigers. In Chhattisgarh’s Achanakmar Tiger Reserve, WWF-India works with the forest department and runs a scheme that gives quick financial relief for livestock lost to wildlife. According to WWF, this makes retaliatory killings less likely. The reserve’s resident tigers doubled to 10 in a survey released in August 2025. The lesson for Indian readers is that compensation, corridors and local cooperation can all help recovery.
What happens next
The report argues that the food system could change from the main driver of biodiversity loss into an ally in nature’s recovery. It also points to finance, saying that changing the rules could redirect hundreds of billions of dollars away from harmful activities.
Because the index tracks averages, reading its results alongside regional and species-level data matters. The recoveries described in the report are real, but they sit alongside large losses elsewhere. The full report is available on WWF’s Living Planet Report website.
Sources
- Living Planet Report 2026
- WWF Living Planet Report 2026 reveals “rational basis for hope”
- World must seize shrinking window to save nature as wildlife decline continues, warns major WWF report
- Wildlife populations have shrunk 73% since 1970. A new report argues there is still a case for hope
- Living Planet Index: what does it really mean?
- Return of the roar
