Protected areas in Sweden
Protected areas covered 15.9% of the territory of Sweden in 2025. The value for 2025 is the highest in the series, which starts in 2013.
Sweden, 2025
15.9%
Change from 2024
+0.3percentage points
European Union, 2025
21.1%
Median of European Union (27 countries), 2025
22.1%
Position in 2025
81st of 213
Protected areas in Sweden over time
View
Sweden
European Union
×
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 total territorial area. Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators. Gaps mean no published value; points are not joined across missing years.
| Period | Sweden | European Union |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 15.9% | 21.1% |
| 2024 | 15.6% | 20.3% |
| 2023 | 15.5% | 20.1% |
| 2022 | 15.5% | 20.1% |
| 2021 | 14.8% | 20.0% |
| 2020 | 14.7% | 19.9% |
| 2019 | 14.6% | 19.7% |
| 2018 | 15.0% | 19.0% |
| 2017 | 15.0% | 18.3% |
| 2016 | 12.9% | 16.4% |
| 2015 | 13.1% | 15.3% |
| 2014 | 13.0% | 14.6% |
| 2013 | 12.6% | 14.6% |
A dash means no value was published for that period.
In short
- That is a change of +0.3 percentage points from 15.6% in 2024.
- Since 2015, when it was 13.1%, the figure has changed by +2.8 percentage points.
- Among the 213 countries with data for 2025, Sweden has the 81st highest value.
- The figure for the European Union in 2025 was 21.1%.