Marine protected areas in China
China: Marine protected areas was 4.8% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Marine protected areas in China, 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
In 2025, marine protected areas in China stood at 4.8%.
That represents a change of up 29.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, marine protected areas in China peaked at 5.5% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 3.4%, in 2013.
China ranks 66th of 174 countries on this measure, 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 China, year by year
| Year | % of territorial waters | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 3.4% | — |
| 2014 | 3.7% | +8.8% |
| 2015 | 3.7% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 3.8% | +2.7% |
| 2017 | 3.8% | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 5.4% | +42.1% |
| 2019 | 5.4% | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 5.5% | +1.9% |
| 2021 | 5.5% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 5.5% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 5.5% | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 4.8% | -12.7% |
| 2025 | 4.8% | +0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 4.2% | 3.4% | 5.4% | 7 |
| 2020s | 5.3% | 4.8% | 5.5% | 6 |
Countries ranked near China
More climate change data for China
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 604,831 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 191,478 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 413,353 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 722.56 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 14,763 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 342,069 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 200,605 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 141,464 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 757 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 5,052 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is marine protected areas in China?
- Marine protected areas in China was 4.8% 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 China?
- The highest recorded value was 5.5% in 2020.
- What is the lowest marine protected areas recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.4% in 2013.
- How does China rank for marine protected areas?
- China ranks 66th out of 174 countries with data for 2025.
- Is marine protected areas rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is up 29.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this China 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.