Namibia: Marine protected areas (% of territorial waters)

Key figures

What the numbers say

From 2016 to 2025 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains less than 1% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

In 2025, Namibia had the 90th highest value of the 169 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Namibia in the 2025 ranking

• Mozambique — 87th of 169: 2.1%
• Puerto Rico (US) — 88th of 169: 2.1%
• Haiti — 89th of 169: 1.8%
• Sierra Leone — 91st of 169: 1.7%
• Türkiye — 92nd of 169: 1.7%
• Philippines — 93rd of 169: 1.6%

What this measures

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.

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.

All 13 values

Marine protected areas (% of territorial waters) in nearby economies

• Angola — 0% (2025)
• Benin — 0.8% (2025)
• Cabo Verde — 0.1% (2025)
• Cameroon — 11.4% (2025)
• Comoros — 0.4% (2025)
• Congo, Dem. Rep. — 0.5% (2025)
• Congo, Rep. — 14.1% (2025)
• Côte d'Ivoire — 0.2% (2025)
• Equatorial Guinea — 0.3% (2025)
• Eritrea

More environment data for Namibia

• Population in largest city — 511,369 (2025)
• Population in the largest city (% of urban population) — 32.5% (2025)
• Rural population — 1.52 million (2025)
• Rural population (% of total population) — 49.13% (2025)
• Urban population — 1.57 million (2025)
• Urban population (% of total population) — 50.87% (2025)
• Aquaculture production (metric tons) — 340 (2024)
• Capture fisheries production (metric tons) — 381,230 (2024)
• Total fisheries production (metric tons) — 381,570 (2024)
• Rural population growth (annual %) — 1.12% (2025)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Namibia's marine protected areas (% of territorial waters)?

1.7% in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2013?

It is unchanged since 2013. The highest value was 1.7% in 2013 and the lowest 1.7% in 2013.

How does Namibia rank?

90th highest of 169 economies with data for 2025.

Where does this data come from?

The World Bank's World Development Indicators, 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, note: Only the latest data can be retri….

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator ER.MRN.PTMR.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, note: Only the latest data can be retri… 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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