Terrestrial protected areas in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income)
Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income): Terrestrial protected areas was 6.0% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Terrestrial protected areas in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (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
Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income) recorded 6.0% for terrestrial protected areas in 2025.
That represents a change of down 2.4% on the previous year and down 12.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, terrestrial protected areas in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income) peaked at 9.7% in 2014 and was at its lowest, 5.5%, in 2021.
Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income) ranks 45th of 47 groups on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 13 years of available data.
Terrestrial protected areas in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income), year by year
| Year | % of total land area | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 5.6% | — |
| 2014 | 9.7% | +73.2% |
| 2015 | 6.9% | -29.6% |
| 2016 | 7.1% | +4.1% |
| 2017 | 7.1% | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 7.1% | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 7.1% | +0.2% |
| 2020 | 5.6% | -21.9% |
| 2021 | 5.5% | -1.6% |
| 2022 | 5.5% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 5.5% | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 6.1% | +11.3% |
| 2025 | 6.0% | -2.4% |
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Terrestrial protected areas in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | +73.2% | 5.6% | 9.7% |
| 2015 | -29.6% | 9.7% | 6.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 7.3% | 5.6% | 9.7% | 7 |
| 2020s | 5.7% | 5.5% | 6.1% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income)
More climate change data for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income)
- Urban population 398.54 million (2025)
- Population, total, annual growth rate 1.65 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population, total, per unit of GDP 0.0004 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Urban population, annual growth rate 2.07 % change on previous year (2025)
- Urban population, per unit of GDP 0.0002 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Urban population, per capita 0.5286 units per person (2025)
- Urban population growth 2.1% (2025)
- Population, total 753.90 million (2025)
- Population growth 1.6% (2025)
- Urban population, per square kilometre 38 units per square kilometre (2023)
All data for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income) →
Frequently asked questions
- What is terrestrial protected areas in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income)?
- Terrestrial protected areas in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income) was 6.0% 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 terrestrial protected areas recorded in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income)?
- The highest recorded value was 9.7% in 2014.
- What is the lowest terrestrial protected areas recorded in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income)?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.5% in 2021.
- How does Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income) rank for terrestrial protected areas?
- Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income) ranks 45th out of 47 groups with data for 2025.
- Is terrestrial protected areas rising or falling in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income)?
- Over the last ten years it is down 12.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (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.