Marine protected areas in Denmark
Denmark: Marine protected areas was 27.1% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Marine protected areas in Denmark, 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 Denmark stood at 27.1%. That is the highest value across all 13 years on record.
That represents a change of up 45.7% on the previous year and up 48.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, marine protected areas in Denmark peaked at 27.1% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 17.6%, in 2013.
That places Denmark 19th out of 174 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 13 years of available data.
Marine protected areas in Denmark, year by year
| Year | % of territorial waters | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 17.6% | — |
| 2014 | 18.2% | +3.4% |
| 2015 | 18.2% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 17.8% | -2.2% |
| 2017 | 18.2% | +2.2% |
| 2018 | 17.8% | -2.2% |
| 2019 | 17.9% | +0.6% |
| 2020 | 18.3% | +2.2% |
| 2021 | 18.3% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 18.3% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 18.3% | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 18.6% | +1.6% |
| 2025 | 27.1% | +45.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 18.0% | 17.6% | 18.2% | 7 |
| 2020s | 19.8% | 18.3% | 27.1% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Denmark
- 16 Northern Mariana Islands 32.4% compare
- 17 New Zealand 30.4% compare
- 18 Costa Rica 28.4% compare
- 20 Gabon 26.8% compare
- 21 Brazil 26.6% compare
- 22 Panama 26.3% compare
More climate change data for Denmark
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 8,374 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 1,827 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 6,546 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 6.9 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 233.8 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 1,637 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 1,616 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 20.71 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 6.1 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 0.7398 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is marine protected areas in Denmark?
- Marine protected areas in Denmark was 27.1% 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 Denmark?
- The highest recorded value was 27.1% in 2025.
- What is the lowest marine protected areas recorded in Denmark?
- The lowest recorded value was 17.6% in 2013.
- How does Denmark rank for marine protected areas?
- Denmark ranks 19th out of 174 countries with data for 2025.
- Is marine protected areas rising or falling in Denmark?
- Over the last ten years it is up 48.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Denmark 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.