World rankings / DATA EXPLORER

THE GLOBAL INDEX #108

Marine protected areas2023

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

% · 2023
01Palau
100
02Monaco
99.7
06France
49.8
07Germany
45.5
08Australia
44.3
10Chile
41.4

Complete ranking

Download CSV ↓
Marine protected areas · 2023 · %
RankCountry / territoryValue (%)Year
01Palau1002023
02Monaco99.72023
03St. Martin96.42023
04New Caledonia96.32023
05Kazakhstan50.72023
06France49.82023
07Germany45.52023
08Australia44.32023
09United Kingdom44.12023
10Chile41.42023
11Belgium38.12023
12Seychelles32.82023
13Northern Mariana Islands32.22023
14New Zealand30.42023
15Costa Rica292023
16Gabon28.82023
17Netherlands26.92023
18Brazil26.82023
18Panama26.82023
20Lithuania25.62023
21Romania23.12023
22Poland22.62023
23Mexico21.62023
24Bahrain21.12023
25Ecuador19.12023
25United States19.12023
27Estonia18.82023
28Denmark18.32023
29Dominican Republic17.32023
30Colombia17.12023
31Portugal16.92023
32Latvia162023
32Sudan162023
34Sweden15.82023
35South Africa15.52023
36Japan13.92023
37Spain12.82023
38Finland122023
39Argentina11.82023
39Kiribati11.82023
41United Arab Emirates11.52023
42Belize112023
43Cameroon10.92023
44Italy10.62023
45Ukraine9.22023
46Canada9.12023
47Guinea-Bissau92023
47Croatia92023
49American Samoa8.72023
49Sint Maarten8.72023
51Cyprus8.62023
52Bulgaria8.12023
53Bangladesh82023
53Peru82023
55Bahamas7.92023
56Malta7.42023
57Malaysia5.62023
58China5.52023
59Egypt52023
60Thailand4.82023
61Honduras4.62023
62Greece4.52023
62Greenland4.52023
64Venezuela4.32023
65Mauritania4.22023
66St. Kitts & Nevis42023
67Cuba3.92023
68Nicaragua3.42023
69Kuwait3.22023
70Indonesia3.12023
71Congo - Brazzaville32023
71Turkmenistan32023
71Tanzania32023
74Albania2.82023
75South Korea2.52023
75Saudi Arabia2.52023
77Ireland2.32023
77Qatar2.32023
77Slovenia2.32023
80Russia2.22023
81Mozambique2.12023
82Senegal1.92023
83Puerto Rico1.82023
83Türkiye1.82023
85Namibia1.72023
85Philippines1.72023
87Sierra Leone1.62023
88Haiti1.52023
88Suriname1.52023
90Cambodia1.42023
90Norway1.42023
90Timor-Leste1.42023
93Jordan12023
93Tunisia12023
95Fiji0.92023
95Madagascar0.92023
95U.S. Virgin Islands0.92023
98Guatemala0.82023
98Iran0.82023
98Jamaica0.82023
98Pakistan0.82023
98Uruguay0.82023
103Georgia0.72023
103Kenya0.72023
103Morocco0.72023
103El Salvador0.72023
107Gambia0.62023
107Libya0.62023
107Montenegro0.62023
107Vietnam0.62023
111Guinea0.52023
111Myanmar (Burma)0.52023
111Yemen0.52023
114Azerbaijan0.42023
114Comoros0.42023
114Iceland0.42023
114Oman0.42023
118Antigua & Barbuda0.32023
118Marshall Islands0.32023
120Brunei0.22023
120Congo - Kinshasa0.22023
120Djibouti0.22023
120Equatorial Guinea0.22023
120India0.22023
120Lebanon0.22023
120St. Lucia0.22023
120Syria0.22023
120Togo0.22023
120St. Vincent & Grenadines0.22023
130Côte d’Ivoire0.12023
130Cayman Islands0.12023
130Algeria0.12023
130Ghana0.12023
130Grenada0.12023
130Liberia0.12023
130Sri Lanka0.12023
130Maldives0.12023
130Papua New Guinea0.12023
130Solomon Islands0.12023
130Turks & Caicos Islands0.12023
130Tonga0.12023
130Samoa0.12023
143Aruba02023
143Angola02023
143Benin02023
143Bosnia & Herzegovina02023
143Bermuda02023
143Barbados02023
143Cape Verde02023
143Curaçao02023
143Dominica02023
143Eritrea02023
143Faroe Islands02023
143Micronesia02023
143Gibraltar02023
143Guam02023
143Guyana02023
143Iraq02023
143Israel02023
143Mauritius02023
143Nigeria02023
143Nauru02023
143North Korea02023
143Palestinian Territories02023
143French Polynesia02023
143Singapore02023
143Somalia02023
143São Tomé & Príncipe02023
143Trinidad & Tobago02023
143Tuvalu02023
143British Virgin Islands02023
143Vanuatu02023

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 "
    }
  ]
}