Terrestrial protected areas in Iceland
Protected areas covered 20.9% of the land area of Iceland in 2025.
Iceland, 2025
20.9%
Change from 2024
0percentage points
World, 2025
16.5%
Median of OECD (38 countries), 2025
21.8%
Position in 2025
87th of 213
Terrestrial protected areas in Iceland over time
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Iceland
World
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The chart loads when you scroll to it. The table below shows the same data.
The chart shows a calculation from the published values. The table below keeps the published values.
% of land area. Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators. Gaps mean no published value; points are not joined across missing years.
| Period | Iceland | World |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 20.9% | 16.5% |
| 2024 | 20.9% | 16.4% |
| 2023 | 20.8% | 16.1% |
| 2022 | 20.8% | 15.9% |
| 2021 | 20.3% | 15.8% |
| 2020 | 19.9% | 15.4% |
| 2019 | 19.5% | 15.1% |
| 2018 | 18.2% | 15.0% |
| 2017 | 18.2% | 15.1% |
| 2016 | 17.4% | 14.9% |
| 2015 | 16.7% | 15.0% |
| 2014 | 16.7% | 15.2% |
| 2013 | 20.2% | 15.0% |
A dash means no value was published for that period.
In short
- That is unchanged from 2024.
- Since 2015, when it was 16.7%, the figure has changed by +4.2 percentage points.
- Among the 213 countries with data for 2025, Iceland has the 87th highest value.
- The figure for the world in 2025 was 16.5%.