Terrestrial protected areas in Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income)
Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income): Terrestrial protected areas was 11.1% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Terrestrial protected areas in Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income), 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 total land area.
Analysis
The most recent figure for terrestrial protected areas in Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) is 11.1%, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 13 years on record.
That represents a change of up 3.6% on the previous year and up 174.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, terrestrial protected areas in Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) peaked at 11.1% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 4.0%, in 2014.
That places Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) 40th out of 47 groups with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 13 years of available data.
Terrestrial protected areas in Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income), year by year
| Year | % of total land area | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 4.4% | — |
| 2014 | 4.0% | -7.6% |
| 2015 | 4.0% | +0.3% |
| 2016 | 4.1% | +2.4% |
| 2017 | 4.1% | +0.1% |
| 2018 | 4.1% | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 4.2% | +1.2% |
| 2020 | 7.5% | +78.0% |
| 2021 | 9.4% | +26.4% |
| 2022 | 9.5% | +0.5% |
| 2023 | 9.7% | +2.9% |
| 2024 | 10.7% | +10.0% |
| 2025 | 11.1% | +3.6% |
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Terrestrial protected areas in Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +78.0% | 4.2% | 7.5% |
| 2021 | +26.4% | 7.5% | 9.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 4.1% | 4.0% | 4.4% | 7 |
| 2020s | 9.6% | 7.5% | 11.1% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income)
More climate change data for Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income)
- Urban population 173.06 million (2025)
- Population, total, annual growth rate 1.15 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population, total, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Urban population, annual growth rate 1.24 % change on previous year (2025)
- Urban population, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Urban population, per capita 0.6833 units per person (2025)
- Urban population 68.3% (2025)
- Urban population growth 1.2% (2025)
- Population, total 253.28 million (2025)
- Population growth 1.1% (2025)
All data for Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) →
Frequently asked questions
- What is terrestrial protected areas in Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income)?
- Terrestrial protected areas in Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) was 11.1% 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 terrestrial protected areas recorded in Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income)?
- The highest recorded value was 11.1% in 2025.
- What is the lowest terrestrial protected areas recorded in Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income)?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.0% in 2014.
- How does Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) rank for terrestrial protected areas?
- Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) ranks 40th out of 47 groups with data for 2025.
- Is terrestrial protected areas rising or falling in Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income)?
- Over the last ten years it is up 174.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) 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 Terrestrial protected areas (% of total land area). 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
Terrestrial protected areas are totally or partially protected areas of at least 1,000 hectares that are designated by national authorities as scientific reserves with limited public access, national parks, natural monuments, nature reserves or wildlife sanctuaries, protected landscapes, and areas managed mainly for sustainable use. Marine areas, unclassified areas, littoral (intertidal) areas, and sites protected under local or provincial law are excluded.