World rankings / DATA EXPLORER

THE GLOBAL INDEX #108

Marine protected areas2021

Marine protected areas as a percentage of the corresponding marine area, under the source's coverage definition.

World Bank
Comparable ranking year2025Latest published year: 2025
Economies with data172 / 217No observation: 45
First-ranked country or territoryPalau100 %

Top 10

% · 2021
01Palau
100
02Monaco
99.7
06France
49.8
07Germany
45.5
08Australia
44.3
10Chile
41.3

Complete ranking

Download CSV ↓
Marine protected areas · 2021 · %
RankCountry / territoryValue (%)Year
01Palau1002021
02Monaco99.72021
03St. Martin96.42021
04New Caledonia96.32021
05Kazakhstan50.72021
06France49.82021
07Germany45.52021
08Australia44.32021
09United Kingdom44.12021
10Chile41.32021
11Belgium38.12021
12Northern Mariana Islands33.22021
13Seychelles32.82021
14New Zealand30.42021
15Gabon28.82021
16Netherlands26.92021
17Brazil26.82021
17Panama26.82021
19Lithuania25.62021
20Romania23.12021
21Poland22.62021
22Mexico21.62021
23United States192021
24Estonia18.82021
25Denmark18.32021
26Dominican Republic182021
27Colombia17.22021
28Portugal16.82021
29Latvia162021
29Sudan162021
31Sweden15.82021
32South Africa15.52021
33Japan13.92021
34Ecuador13.32021
35Spain12.82021
36Finland122021
37Argentina11.82021
37Kiribati11.82021
39United Arab Emirates11.52021
40Belize112021
41Cameroon10.92021
42Italy10.62021
43Norway9.92021
44Ukraine9.22021
45Guinea-Bissau92021
45Croatia92021
47Canada8.92021
48American Samoa8.72021
48Sint Maarten8.72021
50Cyprus8.62021
51Bulgaria8.12021
52Bahamas7.92021
53Malta7.42021
54Malaysia5.62021
55China5.52021
56Bangladesh5.42021
57Egypt52021
58Honduras4.62021
59Greece4.52021
59Greenland4.52021
61Thailand4.42021
62Venezuela4.32021
63Mauritania4.22021
64St. Kitts & Nevis42021
65Cuba3.92021
66Nicaragua3.42021
67Indonesia3.12021
68Congo - Brazzaville32021
68Turkmenistan32021
68Tanzania32021
71Albania2.82021
72Costa Rica2.72021
73South Korea2.52021
73Saudi Arabia2.52021
75Ireland2.32021
75Qatar2.32021
75Slovenia2.32021
78Russia2.22021
79Mozambique2.12021
80Senegal1.92021
81Puerto Rico1.82021
81Türkiye1.82021
83Namibia1.72021
83Philippines1.72021
85Sierra Leone1.62021
86Haiti1.52021
86Suriname1.52021
88Cambodia1.42021
88Kuwait1.42021
88Timor-Leste1.42021
91Bahrain1.22021
92Jordan12021
92Tunisia12021
94Fiji0.92021
94Madagascar0.92021
94U.S. Virgin Islands0.92021
97Guatemala0.82021
97Iran0.82021
97Jamaica0.82021
97Kenya0.82021
97Pakistan0.82021
97Uruguay0.82021
103Georgia0.72021
103Morocco0.72021
103El Salvador0.72021
106Gambia0.62021
106Libya0.62021
106Vietnam0.62021
109Guinea0.52021
109Myanmar (Burma)0.52021
109Peru0.52021
109Yemen0.52021
113Azerbaijan0.42021
113Comoros0.42021
113Iceland0.42021
116Antigua & Barbuda0.32021
116Marshall Islands0.32021
116Oman0.32021
119Brunei0.22021
119Congo - Kinshasa0.22021
119Djibouti0.22021
119Equatorial Guinea0.22021
119India0.22021
119Lebanon0.22021
119St. Lucia0.22021
119Syria0.22021
119Togo0.22021
119St. Vincent & Grenadines0.22021
129Côte d’Ivoire0.12021
129Cayman Islands0.12021
129Algeria0.12021
129Ghana0.12021
129Grenada0.12021
129Liberia0.12021
129Sri Lanka0.12021
129Maldives0.12021
129Montenegro0.12021
129Papua New Guinea0.12021
129Solomon Islands0.12021
129Turks & Caicos Islands0.12021
129Tonga0.12021
129Samoa0.12021
143Aruba02021
143Angola02021
143Benin02021
143Bosnia & Herzegovina02021
143Bermuda02021
143Barbados02021
143Cape Verde02021
143Curaçao02021
143Dominica02021
143Eritrea02021
143Faroe Islands02021
143Micronesia02021
143Gibraltar02021
143Guam02021
143Guyana02021
143Iraq02021
143Israel02021
143Mauritius02021
143Nigeria02021
143Nauru02021
143North Korea02021
143Palestinian Territories02021
143French Polynesia02021
143Singapore02021
143Somalia02021
143São Tomé & Príncipe02021
143Trinidad & Tobago02021
143Tuvalu02021
143British Virgin Islands02021
143Vanuatu02021

How this ranking works

For annual statistics, the default is the newest year covering at least 70% of the maximum available country coverage, and at least 20 economies where possible. A ranking uses one year or report edition; missing observations are not replaced with another year. Newer years with lower coverage can be selected.

Intentional homicide rates and peace scores rank from lowest to highest; other indicators rank from highest to lowest. Ranks use original values and competition ranking for ties, for example 1, 2, 2, 4. Filtering or changing display order does not recalculate global ranks. Higher values are not necessarily better.

Statistics reflect the public source snapshot, not live measurements. Some series are modeled estimates or multi-year averages. See original metadata.

No observation (45)

Afghanistan · Andorra · Armenia · Austria · Belarus · Bhutan · Bolivia · Botswana · Burkina Faso · Burundi · Central African Republic · Chad · Channel Islands · Czechia · Eswatini · Ethiopia · Hong Kong SAR China · Hungary · Isle of Man · Kosovo · Kyrgyzstan · Laos · Lesotho · Liechtenstein · Luxembourg · Macao SAR China · Malawi · Mali · Moldova · Mongolia · Nepal · Niger · North Macedonia · Paraguay · Rwanda · San Marino · Serbia · Slovakia · South Sudan · Switzerland · Tajikistan · Uganda · Uzbekistan · Zambia · Zimbabwe

Source & definition

Indicator definition
Marine protected areas as a percentage of the corresponding marine area, under the source's coverage definition.
Unit
%
Source & definition
World Bank · ER.MRN.PTMR.ZS
Open original source ↗
Original metadata
Marine protected areas are areas of intertidal or subtidal terrain--and overlying water and associated flora and fauna and historical and cultural features--that have been reserved by law or other effective means to protect part or all of the enclosed environment.

{
  "id": "ER.MRN.PTMR.ZS",
  "name": "Marine protected areas (% of territorial waters)",
  "unit": "",
  "source": {
    "id": "2",
    "value": "World Development Indicators"
  },
  "sourceNote": "Marine protected areas are areas of intertidal or subtidal terrain--and overlying water and associated flora and fauna and historical and cultural features--that have been reserved by law or other effective means to protect part or all of the enclosed environment.",
  "sourceOrganization": "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 Centre (UNEP-WCMC), uri: https://www.protectedplanet.net/en, note: Only the latest data can be retrieved from the Protected Planet website. The time series are provided directly to WDI by Protected Planet., publisher: Protected Planet, date accessed: 20240516, date published: 202405;\nInternational Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), uri: https://www.protectedplanet.net/en, publisher: Protected Planet, date accessed: 20240516",
  "topics": [
    {
      "id": "19",
      "value": "Climate Change"
    },
    {
      "id": "6",
      "value": "Environment "
    }
  ]
}