Marine protected areas in United States of America
United States of America: Marine protected areas was 19.0% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Marine protected areas in United States of America, 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
United States of America recorded 19.0% for marine protected areas in 2025.
That represents a change of down 31.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, marine protected areas in United States of America peaked at 41.1% in 2016 and was at its lowest, 10.8%, in 2014.
That places United States of America 32nd out of 174 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 13 years of available data.
Marine protected areas in United States of America, year by year
| Year | % of territorial waters | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 13.3% | — |
| 2014 | 10.8% | -18.8% |
| 2015 | 27.7% | +156.5% |
| 2016 | 41.1% | +48.4% |
| 2017 | 41.0% | -0.2% |
| 2018 | 41.1% | +0.2% |
| 2019 | 41.1% | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 37.4% | -9.0% |
| 2021 | 19.0% | -49.2% |
| 2022 | 19.0% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 19.1% | +0.5% |
| 2024 | 19.0% | -0.5% |
| 2025 | 19.0% | +0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 30.9% | 10.8% | 41.1% | 7 |
| 2020s | 22.1% | 19.0% | 37.4% | 6 |
Countries ranked near United States of America
More climate change data for United States of America
- Share of global CO₂ emissions and population 4.1% (2100)
- Urban population 80.2% (2025)
- Urban population 274.08 million (2025)
- Urban population growth 0.6% (2025)
- Population, total 341.79 million (2025)
- Population growth 0.5% (2025)
- Annual Net Emissions/Removals 6,164 (2024)
- Temperature change with respect to a baseline climatology 1.95 (2024)
- Per capita CO₂ emissions vs. per capita energy use 14.2 tonnes per person (2024)
- Share of global cumulative CO₂ emissions including land-use change 20.4% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is marine protected areas in United States of America?
- Marine protected areas in United States of America 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 United States of America?
- The highest recorded value was 41.1% in 2016.
- What is the lowest marine protected areas recorded in United States of America?
- The lowest recorded value was 10.8% in 2014.
- How does United States of America rank for marine protected areas?
- United States of America ranks 32nd out of 174 countries with data for 2025.
- Is marine protected areas rising or falling in United States of America?
- Over the last ten years it is down 31.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this United States of America 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.