A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. They do not qualify as threatened, near threatened, or (before 2001) conservation dependent.

A species of least concern is one that has a widespread and abundant population. Human beings are a species of least concern, along with most domestic animals, such as dogs and cats. Many wild animals, such as pigeons and houseflies, are also classified as least concern.

A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild.

A Least-Concern (LC) species is widespread, abundant, and not threatened with extinction. The IUCN will often discuss species as being threatened with extinction. That’s the most commonly reported metric. On Our World in Data, we show both the number or share of studied species that are ‘threatened with extinction’ according to the IUCN.