At present there are 73 protected areas awarded the European Diploma, spread across 29 countries.

The first areas to be awarded the European Diploma were the Hautes Fagnes Nature Reserve (Belgium), the Camargue National Reserve (France) and the Peak District National Park (United Kingdom). The European Diploma now covers a wide variety of geographical areas extending from the Fair Isle in the Shetlands north-east of Scotland to the Teberda National Biosphere Reserve in the Russian Caucasus and from the Portuguese Selvagens Islands from Madeira to the Kuşcenneti Bird Reserve in Turkey.

List of areas holding the European Diploma for Protected Areas (2018)