Marine protected areas in Arab World
Arab World: Marine protected areas was 3.8% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Marine protected areas in Arab World, 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
The most recent figure for marine protected areas in Arab World is 3.8%, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 13 years on record.
The figure is up 0.8% on the previous year and up 204.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, marine protected areas in Arab World peaked at 3.8% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 1.2%, in 2015.
That places Arab World 30th out of 45 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 Arab World, year by year
| Year | % of territorial waters | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 1.5% | — |
| 2014 | 1.3% | -16.1% |
| 2015 | 1.2% | -1.8% |
| 2016 | 1.5% | +17.6% |
| 2017 | 1.5% | +5.6% |
| 2018 | 1.7% | +8.5% |
| 2019 | 1.3% | -21.1% |
| 2020 | 1.4% | +4.1% |
| 2021 | 1.4% | +2.1% |
| 2022 | 1.4% | +2.9% |
| 2023 | 1.5% | +1.4% |
| 2024 | 3.7% | +156.2% |
| 2025 | 3.8% | +0.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 1.4% | 1.2% | 1.7% | 7 |
| 2020s | 2.2% | 1.4% | 3.8% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Arab World
More climate change data for Arab World
- Population growth 2.2% (2025)
- Population, total 503.36 million (2025)
- Urban population growth 2.5% (2025)
- Urban population 302.20 million (2025)
- Urban population 60.0% (2025)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million 22.8% (2025)
- Annual freshwater withdrawals, total 230.73 billion cubic meters (2022)
- Annual freshwater withdrawals, total 205.4% (2022)
- Terrestrial protected areas 6.4% (2025)
- Terrestrial and marine protected areas 5.8% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is marine protected areas in Arab World?
- Marine protected areas in Arab World was 3.8% 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 Arab World?
- The highest recorded value was 3.8% in 2025.
- What is the lowest marine protected areas recorded in Arab World?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.2% in 2015.
- How does Arab World rank for marine protected areas?
- Arab World ranks 30th out of 45 groups with data for 2025.
- Is marine protected areas rising or falling in Arab World?
- Over the last ten years it is up 204.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Arab World 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.