Marine protected areas in East Asia & Pacific
East Asia & Pacific: Marine protected areas was 24.1% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Marine protected areas in East Asia & Pacific, 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 East Asia & Pacific is 24.1%, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 13 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 50.7% on the previous year and up 80.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, marine protected areas in East Asia & Pacific peaked at 24.1% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 10.7%, in 2013.
East Asia & Pacific ranks 4th of 47 groups on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 13 years of available data.
Marine protected areas in East Asia & Pacific, year by year
| Year | % of territorial waters | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 10.7% | — |
| 2014 | 14.5% | +35.3% |
| 2015 | 13.3% | -7.9% |
| 2016 | 14.6% | +9.4% |
| 2017 | 14.6% | -0.1% |
| 2018 | 14.7% | +0.6% |
| 2019 | 14.8% | +0.7% |
| 2020 | 14.7% | -0.4% |
| 2021 | 15.7% | +6.7% |
| 2022 | 15.7% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 15.8% | +0.5% |
| 2024 | 16.0% | +1.3% |
| 2025 | 24.1% | +50.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 13.9% | 10.7% | 14.8% | 7 |
| 2020s | 17.0% | 14.7% | 24.1% | 6 |
Countries ranked near East Asia & Pacific
- 1 Monaco 100.0% compare
- 2 Palau 98.0% compare
- 3 Saint Martin (French Part) 97.0% compare
- 4 New Caledonia 96.5% compare
- 5 French Polynesia 87.4% compare
- 6 Kazakhstan 52.5% compare
- 7 France 49.2% compare
More climate change data for East Asia & Pacific
- Population growth 0.1% (2025)
- Population, total 2.39 billion (2025)
- Urban population growth 0.7% (2025)
- Urban population 1.55 billion (2025)
- Urban population 64.8% (2025)
- Annual freshwater withdrawals, total 1,212 billion cubic meters (2022)
- Annual freshwater withdrawals, total 12.1% (2022)
- Terrestrial protected areas 17.6% (2025)
- Terrestrial and marine protected areas 22.0% (2025)
- CPIA public sector management and institutions cluster average 2.98 1=low to 6=high (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is marine protected areas in East Asia & Pacific?
- Marine protected areas in East Asia & Pacific was 24.1% 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 East Asia & Pacific?
- The highest recorded value was 24.1% in 2025.
- What is the lowest marine protected areas recorded in East Asia & Pacific?
- The lowest recorded value was 10.7% in 2013.
- How does East Asia & Pacific rank for marine protected areas?
- East Asia & Pacific ranks 4th out of 47 groups with data for 2025.
- Is marine protected areas rising or falling in East Asia & Pacific?
- Over the last ten years it is up 80.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this East Asia & Pacific 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.
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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.