Penguin Conservation Tracker
12 of 19 penguin species — 63% — are listed as Vulnerable, Endangered, or Critically Endangered, and 12 have a declining population trend. This page tracks where every species sits on the IUCN Red List and records when those listings change.
Recent Red List movements
Status is not static. These are the assessments that changed what we publish, newest first.
- Emperor PenguinApril 9, 2026Near ThreatenedEndangereduplisted
Moved two categories in a single assessment. Emperors breed on fast ice that must hold from laying through fledging and moult, and that ice has hit record lows since 2016. Satellite counts show roughly a 10% loss between 2009 and 2018 — more than 20,000 adults — and modelling across a range of emissions scenarios projects the population halving by the 2080s.
IUCN Red List press release, 9 April 2026 - African PenguinOctober 28, 2024EndangeredCritically Endangereduplisted
The first penguin to reach Critically Endangered. Breeding numbers have collapsed by roughly 97% from historical levels, driven by competition with purse-seine fisheries for sardine and anchovy, and by prey shifting away from established colonies faster than the birds can follow.
BirdLife International — Red List update
The five rarest penguins
Ranked by estimated total individuals. Pair counts are doubled so the comparison is like for like.
Every species by risk
All 19 species, highest risk first, then rarest within each band.
| Species | Status | Population | Trend | Assessed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| African Penguin | Critically Endangered | ~9,900 breeding pairs | Decreasing | 2023 |
| Galapagos Penguin | Endangered | ~1,200 mature individuals | Decreasing | 2021 |
| Yellow-eyed Penguin | Endangered | ~3,400 individuals | Decreasing | 2022 |
| Erect-crested Penguin | Endangered | ~150,000 breeding pairs | Decreasing | 2020 |
| Northern Rockhopper Penguin | Endangered | ~240,300 breeding pairs | Decreasing | 2020 |
| Emperor Penguin | Endangered | ~595,000 individuals | Decreasing | 2026 |
| Fiordland Penguin | Vulnerable | ~6,250 mature individuals | Decreasing | 2016 |
| Humboldt Penguin | Vulnerable | ~23,800 individuals | Decreasing | 2021 |
| Snares Penguin | Vulnerable | ~25,000 breeding pairs | Stable | 2020 |
| Western Rockhopper Penguin | Vulnerable | ~1.5 million breeding pairs | Decreasing | 2020 |
| Eastern Rockhopper Penguin | Vulnerable | ~1.6 million breeding pairs | Decreasing | 2020 |
| Macaroni Penguin | Vulnerable | ~6.3 million breeding pairs | Decreasing | 2020 |
| Royal Penguin | Near Threatened | ~850,000 breeding pairs | Stable | 2020 |
| Little Blue Penguin | Least Concern | ~469,760 individuals | Mixed | 2020 |
| Gentoo Penguin | Least Concern | ~774,000 breeding pairs | Increasing | 2020 |
| Magellanic Penguin | Least Concern | ~1.8 million breeding pairs | Mixed | 2020 |
| King Penguin | Least Concern | ~2.2 million breeding pairs | Stable | 2020 |
| Adelie Penguin | Least Concern | ~7.6 million breeding pairs | Mixed | 2020 |
| Chinstrap Penguin | Least Concern | ~8 million breeding pairs | Decreasing | 2020 |
Common questions
Is the emperor penguin endangered?
Yes. On 9 April 2026 the IUCN moved the emperor penguin from Near Threatened to Endangered, skipping Vulnerable entirely. It was first assessed as Least Concern in 1988 and uplisted to Near Threatened in 2012, so this is its second uplisting and its steepest. The driver is sea ice: emperors breed on fast ice that has to stay intact from laying through fledging and moult, and that ice has hit record lows since 2016. Satellite counts show roughly a 10% population loss between 2009 and 2018 — more than 20,000 adults — and population modelling across a range of emissions scenarios projects the species halving by the 2080s without steep cuts to greenhouse gas emissions. Roughly 595,000 individuals remain.
Why do emperor penguins need sea ice?
Emperors are the only penguin that breeds on sea ice rather than land, and they need a specific kind: fast ice, which is frozen fast to the coastline, the seabed, or grounded icebergs rather than drifting. That platform has to survive the entire breeding cycle — laying in winter, two months of male incubation, chick rearing, and then the moult, when the birds are not waterproof and cannot enter the water at all. If the fast ice breaks up early, chicks that have not yet grown waterproof plumage end up in the ocean and drown. This is why sea-ice loss translates so directly into population decline for this species and not for penguins that nest on rock or in burrows.
Which penguin species are endangered?
Six of the 19 living penguin species sit at Endangered or worse. The African penguin is Critically Endangered — the first penguin to reach the highest risk category, with breeding numbers down roughly 97% from historical levels. Endangered: the emperor penguin (uplisted in April 2026), the Galapagos penguin (around 1,200 individuals, the rarest of all), the yellow-eyed penguin (around 3,400), the erect-crested penguin, and the northern rockhopper penguin. A further six are Vulnerable, so 12 of 19 species — about 63% — face elevated extinction risk.
What do the IUCN Red List categories actually mean?
The Red List sorts species by how close they are to extinction, not by how rare they are. Least Concern means no elevated risk; Near Threatened means close to qualifying; then Vulnerable, Endangered, and Critically Endangered in ascending order of risk. A species qualifies through measurable criteria — rate of population decline, total population size, geographic range, and modelled extinction probability — so a very numerous species can still be listed. The macaroni penguin is Vulnerable despite roughly 6.3 million breeding pairs, because the trend is steeply down. Conversely, rarity alone does not qualify a species if its numbers are stable. Categories are reassessed periodically, which is why status changes over time and why an assessment date matters as much as the category.
Are penguins endangered?
Not all penguins are endangered, but many species face serious threats. Several species sit in Endangered or higher IUCN categories (including African, Galapagos, yellow-eyed, erect-crested, and northern rockhopper penguins), and more than half of living penguin species face elevated risk or declining trends overall. Climate change, overfishing, habitat destruction, and pollution are the primary drivers of these declines.
What is the most endangered penguin species?
The Galapagos penguin is one of the most endangered penguin species, with a total population of only about 1,200 individuals. The African penguin is also critically at risk, having lost over 95% of its population in the last century, declining from an estimated 1.5 million pairs to fewer than 20,000 pairs. The yellow-eyed penguin of New Zealand, with only around 4,000 individuals remaining, is considered the world's rarest penguin by some measures. The erect-crested penguin of New Zealand's Bounty and Antipodes Islands is listed as Endangered with steep population declines and very limited range.