Which has higher marine protected areas, Costa Rica or New Zealand?

New Zealand, at 30.4% against 28.4% in Costa Rica as of 2025.

How many years of comparable data are there for Costa Rica and New Zealand?

13 years are reported by both, from 2013 to 2025.

Where does this data come from?

Protected Planet: The World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) and World Database on Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (WD-OECM), UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring, published as Marine protected areas (% of territorial waters). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Costa Rica vs New Zealand: Marine protected areas

Costa Rica

28.4%

in 2025

New Zealand

30.4%

in 2025

Costa Rica rank

18th

New Zealand rank

17th

Marine protected areas over time

Costa Rica
New Zealand

How they compare

New Zealand currently reports 30.4% against 28.4% in Costa Rica, a difference of 2.0%.

That makes New Zealand's figure about 1.1 times Costa Rica's.

Across all 13 years both countries report, New Zealand has been ahead every year.

Costa Rica ranks 18th and New Zealand ranks 17th of 174 countries.

New Zealand has averaged higher in every one of the 2 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade	Costa Rica	New Zealand	Difference	Ahead
2010s	1.1%	30.0%	29.0%	New Zealand
2020s	20.0%	30.4%	10.4%	New Zealand

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher marine protected areas, Costa Rica or New Zealand?: New Zealand, at 30.4% against 28.4% in Costa Rica as of 2025.
What is the difference in marine protected areas between Costa Rica and New Zealand?: 2.0%, with New Zealand ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Costa Rica and New Zealand?: 13 years are reported by both, from 2013 to 2025.
How do Costa Rica and New Zealand rank globally for marine protected areas?: Costa Rica ranks 18th and New Zealand ranks 17th of 174 countries.
Where does this data come from?: Protected Planet: The World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) and World Database on Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (WD-OECM), UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring, published as Marine protected areas (% of territorial waters). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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Costa Rica vs New Zealand: Marine protected areas. Statizoid, drawing on Protected Planet: The World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) and World Database on Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (WD-OECM), UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring. Retrieved 15 September 2026, from https://climate.statizoid.com/compare/marine-protected-areas-percent-of-territorial-waters/costa-rica/new-zealand/

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About this data

Indicator: Marine protected areas (% of territorial waters)
Unit: % of territorial waters
Source: Protected Planet: The World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) and World Database on Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (WD-OECM), UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage: 221 places, 2,834 data points, 2013–2025
Last refreshed: 03 September 2026

Marine protected areas are areas of intertidal or subtidal terrain--and overlying water and associated flora and fauna and historical and cultural features--that have been reserved by law or other effective means to protect part or all of the enclosed environment.