Terrestrial protected areas in World
World: Terrestrial protected areas was 16.5% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Terrestrial protected areas in World, 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
World recorded 16.5% for terrestrial protected areas in 2025. That is the highest value across all 13 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.4% on the previous year and up 10.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, terrestrial protected areas in World peaked at 16.5% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 14.9%, in 2016.
That places World 19th out of 45 groups with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 13 years of available data.
Terrestrial protected areas in World, year by year
| Year | % of total land area | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 15.0% | — |
| 2014 | 15.2% | +1.8% |
| 2015 | 15.0% | -1.4% |
| 2016 | 14.9% | -0.7% |
| 2017 | 15.1% | +1.5% |
| 2018 | 15.0% | -1.1% |
| 2019 | 15.1% | +1.0% |
| 2020 | 15.4% | +1.8% |
| 2021 | 15.8% | +2.7% |
| 2022 | 15.9% | +0.5% |
| 2023 | 16.1% | +1.3% |
| 2024 | 16.4% | +2.3% |
| 2025 | 16.5% | +0.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 15.0% | 14.9% | 15.2% | 7 |
| 2020s | 16.0% | 15.4% | 16.5% | 6 |
Countries ranked near World
More climate change data for World
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 4.94 million kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 1.27 million kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 3.67 million kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 4,791 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 130,918 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 1.64 million kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 957,726 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 685,096 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 3,614 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 24,468 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is terrestrial protected areas in World?
- Terrestrial protected areas in World was 16.5% 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 World?
- The highest recorded value was 16.5% in 2025.
- What is the lowest terrestrial protected areas recorded in World?
- The lowest recorded value was 14.9% in 2016.
- How does World rank for terrestrial protected areas?
- World ranks 19th out of 45 groups with data for 2025.
- Is terrestrial protected areas rising or falling in World?
- Over the last ten years it is up 10.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this World 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.