Marine protected areas in Spain
Spain: Marine protected areas was 19.0% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Marine protected areas in Spain, 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
Spain recorded 19.0% for marine protected areas in 2025. That is the highest value across all 13 years on record.
That represents a change of up 48.4% on the previous year and up 167.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, marine protected areas in Spain peaked at 19.0% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 1.1%, in 2014.
Spain ranks 32nd of 174 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 13 years of available data.
Marine protected areas in Spain, year by year
| Year | % of territorial waters | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 1.7% | — |
| 2014 | 1.1% | -35.3% |
| 2015 | 7.1% | +545.5% |
| 2016 | 8.4% | +18.3% |
| 2017 | 8.4% | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 8.4% | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 12.7% | +51.2% |
| 2020 | 12.8% | +0.8% |
| 2021 | 12.8% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 12.8% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 12.8% | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 12.8% | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 19.0% | +48.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 6.8% | 1.1% | 12.7% | 7 |
| 2020s | 13.8% | 12.8% | 19.0% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Spain
More climate change data for Spain
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 31,851 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 7,475 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 24,376 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 28.21 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 870.55 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 8,160 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 6,530 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 1,630 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 24.64 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 58.21 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is marine protected areas in Spain?
- Marine protected areas in Spain was 19.0% 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 Spain?
- The highest recorded value was 19.0% in 2025.
- What is the lowest marine protected areas recorded in Spain?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.1% in 2014.
- How does Spain rank for marine protected areas?
- Spain ranks 32nd out of 174 countries with data for 2025.
- Is marine protected areas rising or falling in Spain?
- Over the last ten years it is up 167.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Spain 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.