Critically Endangered

Conservation status by IUCN Red List category
Extinct
Extinct (EX) Extinct in the Wild (EW)	(list) (list)
Threatened
Critically Endangered (CR) Endangered (EN) Vulnerable (VU)	(list) (list) (list)
Lower Risk
Near Threatened (NT) Conservation Dependent (CD) Least Concern (LC)	(list) (list)
Other categories
Data Deficient (DD) Not Evaluated (NE)	(list)
Related topics International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) IUCN Red List NatureServe status Lists of organisms by population
Comparison of Red List classes above and NatureServe status below
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An IUCN Red List Critically Endangered (CR or sometimes CE) species is one that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.^[1] As of December 2023, of the 157,190 species currently on the IUCN Red List, 9,760 of those are listed as Critically Endangered, with 1,302 being possibly extinct and 67 possibly extinct in the wild.^[2]

The IUCN Red List provides the public with information regarding the conservation status of animal, fungi, and plant species.^[3] It divides various species into seven different categories of conservation that are based on habitat range, population size, habitat, threats, etc. Each category representing a different level of global extinction risk. Species that are considered to be Critically Endangered are placed within the "threatened" category.^[4]

As the IUCN Red List does not consider a species extinct until extensive, targeted surveys have been conducted, species that are possibly extinct are still listed as Critically Endangered. IUCN maintains a list^[5] of "possibly extinct" and "possibly extinct in the wild" species, modelled on categories used by BirdLife International to categorize these taxa.