Marine protected areas in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia: Marine protected areas was 3.5% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Marine protected areas in Saudi Arabia, 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
Saudi Arabia recorded 3.5% for marine protected areas in 2025. That is the highest value across all 13 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 118.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, marine protected areas in Saudi Arabia peaked at 3.5% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 1.5%, in 2016.
Saudi Arabia ranks 76th 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 Saudi Arabia, year by year
| Year | % of territorial waters | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 1.6% | — |
| 2014 | 1.6% | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 1.6% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 1.5% | -6.3% |
| 2017 | 2.5% | +66.7% |
| 2018 | 2.5% | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 2.5% | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 2.5% | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 2.5% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 2.5% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 2.5% | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 3.5% | +40.0% |
| 2025 | 3.5% | +0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 2.0% | 1.5% | 2.5% | 7 |
| 2020s | 2.8% | 2.5% | 3.5% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Saudi Arabia
More climate change data for Saudi Arabia
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 4,043 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 1,830 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 2,213 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 6.91 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 79.03 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 1,017 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 1,002 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 15.05 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 3.78 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 0.5376 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is marine protected areas in Saudi Arabia?
- Marine protected areas in Saudi Arabia was 3.5% 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 Saudi Arabia?
- The highest recorded value was 3.5% in 2024.
- What is the lowest marine protected areas recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.5% in 2016.
- How does Saudi Arabia rank for marine protected areas?
- Saudi Arabia ranks 76th out of 174 countries with data for 2025.
- Is marine protected areas rising or falling in Saudi Arabia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 118.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Saudi Arabia 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.