Marine protected areas in South Korea
South Korea: Marine protected areas was 2.3% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Marine protected areas in South Korea, 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 South Korea stood at 2.3%.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 4.5% on the previous year and up 130.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, marine protected areas in South Korea peaked at 2.5% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 1.0%, in 2013.
South Korea ranks 84th 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 South Korea, year by year
| Year | % of territorial waters | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 1.0% | — |
| 2014 | 1.0% | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 1.0% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 1.6% | +60.0% |
| 2017 | 1.6% | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 1.6% | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 2.4% | +50.0% |
| 2020 | 2.5% | +4.2% |
| 2021 | 2.5% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 2.5% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 2.5% | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 2.2% | -12.0% |
| 2025 | 2.3% | +4.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 1.5% | 1.0% | 2.4% | 7 |
| 2020s | 2.4% | 2.2% | 2.5% | 6 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
More climate change data for South Korea
- Share of global CO₂ emissions and population 0.2% (2100)
- Urban population 81.2% (2025)
- Urban population 41.95 million (2025)
- Urban population growth -0.1% (2025)
- Population, total 51.68 million (2025)
- Population growth -0.1% (2025)
- Annual Net Emissions/Removals 668.25 (2024)
- Temperature change with respect to a baseline climatology 2.54 (2024)
- Per capita CO₂ emissions vs. per capita energy use 11.29 tonnes per person (2024)
- Share of global cumulative CO₂ emissions including land-use change 0.8% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is marine protected areas in South Korea?
- Marine protected areas in South Korea was 2.3% 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 South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 2.5% in 2020.
- What is the lowest marine protected areas recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.0% in 2013.
- How does South Korea rank for marine protected areas?
- South Korea ranks 84th out of 174 countries with data for 2025.
- Is marine protected areas rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 130.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Korea 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.