Protected areas in World
Protected areas covered 17.0% of the territory of the world in 2025. The value for 2025 is the highest in the series, which starts in 2013.
World is a group: All economies covered by the World Bank. The value is the aggregate published by World Bank, not an average calculated on this site.
World, 2025
17.0%
Change from 2024
+1.7percentage points
European Union, 2025
21.1%
Protected areas in World over time
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World
European Union
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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 | World | European Union |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 17.0% | 21.1% |
| 2024 | 15.3% | 20.3% |
| 2023 | 14.9% | 20.1% |
| 2022 | 14.9% | 20.1% |
| 2021 | 14.7% | 20.0% |
| 2020 | 14.8% | 19.9% |
| 2019 | 14.5% | 19.7% |
| 2018 | 14.1% | 19.0% |
| 2017 | 13.5% | 18.3% |
| 2016 | 13.2% | 16.4% |
| 2015 | 12.1% | 15.3% |
| 2014 | 11.9% | 14.6% |
| 2013 | 11.1% | 14.6% |
A dash means no value was published for that period.
In short
- That is a change of +1.7 percentage points from 15.3% in 2024.
- Since 2015, when it was 12.1%, the figure has changed by +4.8 percentage points.
- The figure for the European Union in 2025 was 21.1%.