Marine protected areas in Euro area
Euro area: Marine protected areas was 16.5% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Marine protected areas in Euro area, 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 Euro area stood at 16.5%. That is the highest value across all 13 years on record.
The figure is up 8.2% on the previous year and up 125.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, marine protected areas in Euro area peaked at 16.5% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 6.1%, in 2014.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 13 years of available data.
Marine protected areas in Euro area, year by year
| Year | % of territorial waters | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 6.1% | — |
| 2014 | 6.1% | -0.4% |
| 2015 | 7.3% | +20.8% |
| 2016 | 9.1% | +23.4% |
| 2017 | 12.1% | +33.5% |
| 2018 | 13.5% | +11.6% |
| 2019 | 14.6% | +8.6% |
| 2020 | 15.1% | +3.1% |
| 2021 | 15.2% | +0.4% |
| 2022 | 15.2% | +0.2% |
| 2023 | 15.2% | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 15.3% | +0.6% |
| 2025 | 16.5% | +8.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 9.8% | 6.1% | 14.6% | 7 |
| 2020s | 15.4% | 15.1% | 16.5% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Euro area
- 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
More climate change data for Euro area
- Population growth 0.3% (2025)
- Population, total 358.66 million (2025)
- Urban population growth 0.5% (2025)
- Urban population 277.88 million (2025)
- Urban population 77.5% (2025)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million 19.8% (2025)
- Annual freshwater withdrawals, total 159.05 billion cubic meters (2022)
- Annual freshwater withdrawals, total 14.9% (2022)
- Terrestrial protected areas 27.5% (2025)
- Terrestrial and marine protected areas 20.6% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is marine protected areas in Euro area?
- Marine protected areas in Euro area was 16.5% 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 Euro area?
- The highest recorded value was 16.5% in 2025.
- What is the lowest marine protected areas recorded in Euro area?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.1% in 2014.
- How does Euro area rank for marine protected areas?
- Euro area ranks 2nd out of 2 groups with data for 2025.
- Is marine protected areas rising or falling in Euro area?
- Over the last ten years it is up 125.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Euro area 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.