Belgium vs Netherlands: Share of marine territorial waters that are protected

Belgium

38.3%

in 2025

Netherlands

33.5%

in 2025

Belgium rank

13th

Netherlands rank

14th

Share of marine territorial waters that are protected over time

Belgium
Netherlands

How they compare

Belgium currently reports 38.3% against 33.5% in Netherlands, a difference of 4.8%.

That makes Belgium's figure about 1.1 times Netherlands's.

Across all 13 years both countries report, Belgium has been ahead every year.

Belgium ranks 13th and Netherlands ranks 14th of 174 countries.

Individual pages

About this data

Indicator: Share of marine territorial waters that are protected
Unit: % of territorial waters
Source: Protected Planet WDPA and WD-OECM data, UNEP-WCMC and IUCN, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 174 places, 2,223 data points, 2013–2025
Last refreshed: 07 August 2026

Marine protected areas are regions of intertidal or sub-tidal land and associated water, flora and fauna, and cultural and historical features that have been legally or effectively reserved for protection.