The 25 hotspots contain the remaining habitats of 133,149 plant species (44% of all plant species world-wide; Table 1) and 9,645 vertebrate species (35%; Table 2). These endemics are confined to an aggregate expanse of 2.1 million square kilometres, or 1.4% of the Earth's land surface. They formerly occupied 17.4 million square kilometres or 11.8% of the Earth's land surface. They are so threatened that, having already lost an aggregate of 88% of their primary vegetation, they all seem likely, in the absence of greatly increased conservation efforts, to lose much if not most of their remaining primary vegetation within the foreseeable future.