Terrestrial protected areas in Middle income
Middle income: Terrestrial protected areas was 17.3% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Terrestrial protected areas in Middle 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 Middle income is 17.3%, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 13 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.2% on the previous year and up 6.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, terrestrial protected areas in Middle income peaked at 17.3% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 15.8%, in 2013.
That places Middle income 9th out of 45 groups with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 13 years of available data.
Terrestrial protected areas in Middle income, year by year
| Year | % of total land area | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 15.8% | — |
| 2014 | 16.7% | +6.1% |
| 2015 | 16.2% | -2.8% |
| 2016 | 16.4% | +0.7% |
| 2017 | 16.4% | +0.2% |
| 2018 | 16.2% | -1.5% |
| 2019 | 16.3% | +1.2% |
| 2020 | 16.5% | +0.8% |
| 2021 | 16.8% | +1.7% |
| 2022 | 16.8% | +0.2% |
| 2023 | 17.0% | +1.2% |
| 2024 | 17.2% | +1.5% |
| 2025 | 17.3% | +0.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 16.3% | 15.8% | 16.7% | 7 |
| 2020s | 16.9% | 16.5% | 17.3% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Middle income
More climate change data for Middle income
- Population growth 0.8% (2025)
- Population, total 6.02 billion (2025)
- Urban population growth 1.4% (2025)
- Urban population 3.34 billion (2025)
- Urban population 55.4% (2025)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million 24.1% (2025)
- Annual freshwater withdrawals, total 2,785 billion cubic meters (2022)
- Annual freshwater withdrawals, total 10.9% (2022)
- Terrestrial and marine protected areas 12.7% (2025)
- Marine protected areas 7.1% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is terrestrial protected areas in Middle income?
- Terrestrial protected areas in Middle income was 17.3% 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 income?
- The highest recorded value was 17.3% in 2025.
- What is the lowest terrestrial protected areas recorded in Middle income?
- The lowest recorded value was 15.8% in 2013.
- How does Middle income rank for terrestrial protected areas?
- Middle income ranks 9th out of 45 groups with data for 2025.
- Is terrestrial protected areas rising or falling in Middle income?
- Over the last ten years it is up 6.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Middle 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.