Marine protected areas in Africa Eastern and Southern
Africa Eastern and Southern: Marine protected areas was 8.5% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Marine protected areas in Africa Eastern and Southern, 2013–2025
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. Measured in % of territorial waters.
Analysis
Africa Eastern and Southern recorded 8.5% for marine protected areas in 2025. That is the highest value across all 13 years on record.
The figure is up 0.1% on the previous year and up 199.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, marine protected areas in Africa Eastern and Southern peaked at 8.5% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 2.8%, in 2013.
That places Africa Eastern and Southern 19th out of 47 groups with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 13 years of available data.
Marine protected areas in Africa Eastern and Southern, year by year
| Year | % of territorial waters | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 2.8% | — |
| 2014 | 2.8% | +0.7% |
| 2015 | 2.8% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 3.0% | +4.4% |
| 2017 | 3.0% | +2.6% |
| 2018 | 3.0% | -0.5% |
| 2019 | 5.6% | +86.7% |
| 2020 | 8.5% | +50.6% |
| 2021 | 8.5% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 8.5% | -0.0% |
| 2023 | 8.5% | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 8.5% | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 8.5% | +0.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 3.3% | 2.8% | 5.6% | 7 |
| 2020s | 8.5% | 8.5% | 8.5% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Africa Eastern and Southern
- 16 Northern Mariana Islands 32.4% compare
- 17 New Zealand 30.4% compare
- 18 Costa Rica 28.4% compare
- 19 Denmark 27.1% compare
- 20 Gabon 26.8% compare
- 21 Brazil 26.6% compare
- 22 Panama 26.3% compare
More climate change data for Africa Eastern and Southern
- Population growth 2.5% (2025)
- Population, total 788.84 million (2025)
- Urban population growth 3.7% (2025)
- Urban population 305.30 million (2025)
- Urban population 38.7% (2025)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million 15.2% (2025)
- Annual freshwater withdrawals, total 100.16 billion cubic meters (2022)
- Annual freshwater withdrawals, total 5.0% (2022)
- Terrestrial protected areas 17.9% (2025)
- Terrestrial and marine protected areas 14.5% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is marine protected areas in Africa Eastern and Southern?
- Marine protected areas in Africa Eastern and Southern was 8.5% in 2025, according to 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.
- What is the highest marine protected areas recorded in Africa Eastern and Southern?
- The highest recorded value was 8.5% in 2025.
- What is the lowest marine protected areas recorded in Africa Eastern and Southern?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.8% in 2013.
- How does Africa Eastern and Southern rank for marine protected areas?
- Africa Eastern and Southern ranks 19th out of 47 groups with data for 2025.
- Is marine protected areas rising or falling in Africa Eastern and Southern?
- Over the last ten years it is up 199.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Africa Eastern and Southern data come from?
- The figures 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 part of Marine protected areas (% of territorial waters). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 13 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
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.