Protected areas in United States
Protected areas covered 15.8% of the territory of United States in 2025.
United States, 2025
15.8%
Change from 2024
0percentage points
World, 2025
17.0%
Median of OECD (38 countries), 2025
20.2%
Position in 2025
82nd of 213
Protected areas in United States over time
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United States
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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 total territorial area. Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators. Gaps mean no published value; points are not joined across missing years.
| Period | United States | World |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 15.8% | 17.0% |
| 2024 | 15.8% | 15.3% |
| 2023 | 15.9% | 14.9% |
| 2022 | 15.9% | 14.9% |
| 2021 | 15.9% | 14.7% |
| 2020 | 23.9% | 14.8% |
| 2019 | 26.3% | 14.5% |
| 2018 | 26.3% | 14.1% |
| 2017 | 26.6% | 13.5% |
| 2016 | 26.3% | 13.2% |
| 2015 | 20.1% | 12.1% |
| 2014 | 12.0% | 11.9% |
| 2013 | 13.5% | 11.1% |
A dash means no value was published for that period.
In short
- That is unchanged from 2024.
- Since 2015, when it was 20.1%, the figure has changed by −4.3 percentage points.
- Among the 213 countries with data for 2025, United States has the 82nd highest value.
- The figure for the world in 2025 was 17.0%.