Marine protected areas in Pacific island small states
Pacific island small states: Marine protected areas was 7.1% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Marine protected areas in Pacific island small states, 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 Pacific island small states is 7.1%, measured in 2025.
That represents a change of up 128.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, marine protected areas in Pacific island small states peaked at 7.3% in 2019 and was at its lowest, 3.1%, in 2013.
Pacific island small states ranks 22nd of 47 groups 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 Pacific island small states, year by year
| Year | % of territorial waters | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 3.1% | — |
| 2014 | 3.1% | +2.0% |
| 2015 | 3.1% | -0.5% |
| 2016 | 6.7% | +114.5% |
| 2017 | 6.7% | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 6.7% | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 7.3% | +10.0% |
| 2020 | 7.3% | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 7.2% | -2.1% |
| 2022 | 7.2% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 7.2% | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 7.1% | -0.8% |
| 2025 | 7.1% | +0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 5.2% | 3.1% | 7.3% | 7 |
| 2020s | 7.2% | 7.1% | 7.3% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Pacific island small states
More climate change data for Pacific island small states
- Population growth 1.2% (2025)
- Population, total 2.76 million (2025)
- Urban population growth 2.0% (2025)
- Urban population 1.13 million (2025)
- Urban population 40.9% (2025)
- Terrestrial protected areas 4.2% (2025)
- Terrestrial and marine protected areas 7.1% (2025)
- CPIA public sector management and institutions cluster average 3.2 1=low to 6=high (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is marine protected areas in Pacific island small states?
- Marine protected areas in Pacific island small states was 7.1% 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 Pacific island small states?
- The highest recorded value was 7.3% in 2019.
- What is the lowest marine protected areas recorded in Pacific island small states?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.1% in 2013.
- How does Pacific island small states rank for marine protected areas?
- Pacific island small states ranks 22nd out of 47 groups with data for 2025.
- Is marine protected areas rising or falling in Pacific island small states?
- Over the last ten years it is up 128.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Pacific island small states 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.