France vs United Kingdom: Share of marine territorial waters that are protected

France

49.2%

in 2025

United Kingdom

46.8%

in 2025

France rank

7th

United Kingdom rank

8th

Share of marine territorial waters that are protected over time

France
United Kingdom

How they compare

France currently reports 49.2% against 46.8% in United Kingdom, a difference of 2.4%.

That makes France's figure about 1.1 times United Kingdom's.

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

France ranks 7th and United Kingdom ranks 8th 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.