Environment · European Union
Yearly data from 2013 to 2025, from the World Bank.
European Union's terrestrial protected areas (% of total land area) was 26.64% in 2025, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 1.45 percentage points from 25.19% in 2015.
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 26.64% | 2025 |
| Five years earlier | 26.01% | 2020 |
| Ten years earlier | 25.19% | 2015 |
| Highest | 26.64% | 2025 |
| Lowest | 25.15% | 2014 |
| Average since 2016 | 26.13% | 2016–2025 |
| First recorded | 25.2% | 2013 |
Over five years it is up 0.63 percentage points from 26.01% in 2020. Since 2013 it is up 1.44 percentage points from 25.2% in 2013.
In 2025, European Union's terrestrial protected areas (% of total land area) rose 0.07 percentage points on 2024 (from 26.57% to 26.64%).
Across the 11 yearly changes before that (2014 to 2024), the average change was +0.12 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.17 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.
On record, the biggest yearly rise was 0.51 percentage points in 2016 and the biggest yearly fall was 0.05 percentage points in 2014. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.
From 2016 to 2025 the straight-line trend is upward, about 0.1 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 94% of the movement over 10 observed years.
Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.
See how every economy compares in the full ranking.
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| European Union | 26.64% | 2025 |
| World | 16.51% | 2025 |
Terrestrial protected areas are totally or partially protected areas of at least 1,000 hectares that are designated by national authorities as scientific reserves with limited public access, national parks, natural monuments, nature reserves or wildlife sanctuaries, protected landscapes, and areas managed mainly for sustainable use. Marine areas, unclassified areas, littoral (intertidal) areas, and sites protected under local or provincial law are excluded.
Limitations: The data source for this indicator is the World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA), the most comprehensive global dataset on marine and terrestrial protected areas available. The extent to which the land areas, including inland waters, and territorial waters of a country/territory are protected is useful for planning purpose to protect biodiversity. However, it is neither an indication of how well managed the terrestrial and marine protected areas are, nor confirmation that protection measures are effectively enforced. Further, the indicator does not provide information on non-designated or internationally designated protected areas that may also be important for conserving biodiversity.
Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.
| Year | Terrestrial protected areas (% of total land area) |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 26.64 |
| 2024 | 26.57 |
| 2023 | 26.28 |
| 2022 | 26.28 |
| 2021 | 26.09 |
| 2020 | 26.01 |
| 2019 | 25.96 |
| 2018 | 25.85 |
| 2017 | 25.9 |
| 2016 | 25.7 |
| 2015 | 25.19 |
| 2014 | 25.15 |
| 2013 | 25.2 |
Every indicator for European Union is on the European Union data page.
World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator ER.LND.PTLD.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: 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, publisher: Protected Planet, date acces… Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.
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