Marine protected areas in Small states
Small states: Marine protected areas was 7.2% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Marine protected areas in 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
In 2025, marine protected areas in Small states stood at 7.2%.
That represents a change of up 232.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, marine protected areas in Small states peaked at 7.3% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 2.2%, in 2014.
That places Small states 19th out of 45 groups with data for 2025, putting it 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 Small states, year by year
| Year | % of territorial waters | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 2.2% | — |
| 2014 | 2.2% | -2.3% |
| 2015 | 2.2% | +0.1% |
| 2016 | 4.6% | +110.2% |
| 2017 | 4.8% | +4.5% |
| 2018 | 4.8% | +0.1% |
| 2019 | 6.2% | +30.2% |
| 2020 | 7.3% | +18.1% |
| 2021 | 7.2% | -1.4% |
| 2022 | 7.2% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 7.2% | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 7.2% | -0.4% |
| 2025 | 7.2% | -0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 3.8% | 2.2% | 6.2% | 7 |
| 2020s | 7.2% | 7.2% | 7.3% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Small states
- 16 Northern Mariana Islands 32.4% compare
- 17 New Zealand 30.4% compare
- 18 Costa Rica 28.4% compare
- 19 Denmark 27.1% compare
- 20 Gabon 26.8% compare
- 21 Brazil 26.6% compare
- 22 Panama 26.3% compare
More climate change data for Small states
- Population growth 0.8% (2025)
- Population, total 20.35 million (2025)
- Urban population growth 1.1% (2025)
- Urban population 10.60 million (2025)
- Urban population 52.1% (2025)
- Annual freshwater withdrawals, total 10.28 billion cubic meters (2022)
- Annual freshwater withdrawals, total 1.2% (2022)
- Terrestrial protected areas 16.5% (2025)
- Terrestrial and marine protected areas 7.5% (2025)
- CPIA public sector management and institutions cluster average 3.16 1=low to 6=high (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is marine protected areas in Small states?
- Marine protected areas in Small states was 7.2% 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 Small states?
- The highest recorded value was 7.3% in 2020.
- What is the lowest marine protected areas recorded in Small states?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.2% in 2014.
- How does Small states rank for marine protected areas?
- Small states ranks 19th out of 45 groups with data for 2025.
- Is marine protected areas rising or falling in Small states?
- Over the last ten years it is up 232.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this 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.
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.