World rankings / DATA EXPLORER

THE GLOBAL INDEX #108

Marine protected areas2022

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

% · 2022
01Palau
100
02Monaco
99.7
06France
49.8
07Germany
45.5
08Australia
44.3
10Chile
41.4

Complete ranking

Download CSV ↓
Marine protected areas · 2022 · %
RankCountry / territoryValue (%)Year
01Palau1002022
02Monaco99.72022
03St. Martin96.42022
04New Caledonia96.32022
05Kazakhstan50.72022
06France49.82022
07Germany45.52022
08Australia44.32022
09United Kingdom44.12022
10Chile41.42022
11Belgium38.12022
12Northern Mariana Islands33.22022
13Seychelles32.82022
14New Zealand30.42022
15Costa Rica292022
16Gabon28.82022
17Netherlands26.92022
18Brazil26.82022
18Panama26.82022
20Lithuania25.62022
21Romania23.12022
22Poland22.62022
23Mexico21.62022
24Bahrain21.12022
25Ecuador19.12022
26United States192022
27Estonia18.82022
28Denmark18.32022
29Dominican Republic17.32022
30Colombia17.12022
31Portugal16.92022
32Latvia162022
32Sudan162022
34Sweden15.82022
35South Africa15.52022
36Japan13.92022
37Spain12.82022
38Finland122022
39Argentina11.82022
39Kiribati11.82022
41United Arab Emirates11.52022
42Belize112022
43Cameroon10.92022
44Italy10.62022
45Norway9.82022
46Ukraine9.22022
47Canada9.12022
48Guinea-Bissau92022
48Croatia92022
50American Samoa8.72022
50Sint Maarten8.72022
52Cyprus8.62022
53Bulgaria8.12022
54Peru82022
55Bahamas7.92022
56Malta7.42022
57Malaysia5.62022
58China5.52022
59Bangladesh5.42022
60Egypt52022
61Honduras4.62022
62Greece4.52022
62Greenland4.52022
64Thailand4.42022
64Venezuela4.42022
66Mauritania4.22022
67St. Kitts & Nevis42022
68Cuba3.92022
69Nicaragua3.42022
70Indonesia3.12022
71Congo - Brazzaville32022
71Turkmenistan32022
71Tanzania32022
74Albania2.82022
75South Korea2.52022
75Saudi Arabia2.52022
77Ireland2.32022
77Qatar2.32022
77Slovenia2.32022
80Russia2.22022
81Mozambique2.12022
82Senegal1.92022
83Puerto Rico1.82022
83Türkiye1.82022
85Namibia1.72022
85Philippines1.72022
87Sierra Leone1.62022
88Haiti1.52022
88Suriname1.52022
90Cambodia1.42022
90Kuwait1.42022
90Timor-Leste1.42022
93Jordan12022
93Tunisia12022
95Fiji0.92022
95Madagascar0.92022
95U.S. Virgin Islands0.92022
98Guatemala0.82022
98Iran0.82022
98Jamaica0.82022
98Pakistan0.82022
98Uruguay0.82022
103Georgia0.72022
103Kenya0.72022
103Morocco0.72022
103El Salvador0.72022
107Gambia0.62022
107Libya0.62022
107Montenegro0.62022
107Vietnam0.62022
111Guinea0.52022
111Myanmar (Burma)0.52022
111Yemen0.52022
114Azerbaijan0.42022
114Comoros0.42022
114Iceland0.42022
117Antigua & Barbuda0.32022
117Marshall Islands0.32022
117Oman0.32022
120Brunei0.22022
120Congo - Kinshasa0.22022
120Djibouti0.22022
120Equatorial Guinea0.22022
120India0.22022
120Lebanon0.22022
120St. Lucia0.22022
120Syria0.22022
120Togo0.22022
120St. Vincent & Grenadines0.22022
130Côte d’Ivoire0.12022
130Cayman Islands0.12022
130Algeria0.12022
130Ghana0.12022
130Grenada0.12022
130Liberia0.12022
130Sri Lanka0.12022
130Maldives0.12022
130Papua New Guinea0.12022
130Solomon Islands0.12022
130Turks & Caicos Islands0.12022
130Tonga0.12022
130Samoa0.12022
143Aruba02022
143Angola02022
143Benin02022
143Bosnia & Herzegovina02022
143Bermuda02022
143Barbados02022
143Cape Verde02022
143Curaçao02022
143Dominica02022
143Eritrea02022
143Faroe Islands02022
143Micronesia02022
143Gibraltar02022
143Guam02022
143Guyana02022
143Iraq02022
143Israel02022
143Mauritius02022
143Nigeria02022
143Nauru02022
143North Korea02022
143Palestinian Territories02022
143French Polynesia02022
143Singapore02022
143Somalia02022
143São Tomé & Príncipe02022
143Trinidad & Tobago02022
143Tuvalu02022
143British Virgin Islands02022
143Vanuatu02022

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 "
    }
  ]
}