Marine protected areas in France
France: Marine protected areas was 49.2% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Marine protected areas in France, 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
France recorded 49.2% for marine protected areas in 2025.
That represents a change of down 1.2% on the previous year and up 156.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, marine protected areas in France peaked at 50.4% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 19.2%, in 2015.
France ranks 7th of 174 countries 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 France, year by year
| Year | % of territorial waters | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 20.4% | — |
| 2014 | 19.8% | -2.9% |
| 2015 | 19.2% | -3.0% |
| 2016 | 26.2% | +36.5% |
| 2017 | 30.7% | +17.2% |
| 2018 | 45.0% | +46.6% |
| 2019 | 48.9% | +8.7% |
| 2020 | 50.4% | +3.1% |
| 2021 | 49.8% | -1.2% |
| 2022 | 49.8% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 49.8% | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 49.8% | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 49.2% | -1.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 30.0% | 19.2% | 48.9% | 7 |
| 2020s | 49.8% | 49.2% | 50.4% | 6 |
Countries ranked near France
- 4 New Caledonia 96.5% compare
- 5 French Polynesia 87.4% compare
- 6 Kazakhstan 52.5% compare
- 8 United Kingdom 46.8% compare
- 9 Australia 45.4% compare
- 10 Germany 45.3% compare
More climate change data for France
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 55,837 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 11,820 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 44,017 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 44.6 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 1,572 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 16,983 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 16,451 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 532.77 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 62.08 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 19.03 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is marine protected areas in France?
- Marine protected areas in France was 49.2% 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 France?
- The highest recorded value was 50.4% in 2020.
- What is the lowest marine protected areas recorded in France?
- The lowest recorded value was 19.2% in 2015.
- How does France rank for marine protected areas?
- France ranks 7th out of 174 countries with data for 2025.
- Is marine protected areas rising or falling in France?
- Over the last ten years it is up 156.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this France 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.