Marine protected areas in Australia
Australia: Marine protected areas was 45.4 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
45.4
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
9th
of 174 countries
All-time high
45.4
in 2024
All-time low
40.6
in 2017
Years of data
13
2013–2025
Marine protected areas in Australia, 2013–2025
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
Australia recorded 45.4 for marine protected areas in 2025. That is the highest value across all 13 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 5.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, marine protected areas in Australia peaked at 45.4 in 2024 and was at its lowest, 40.6, in 2017.
Australia ranks 9th of 174 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 13 years of available data.
Marine protected areas in Australia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 43.9 | — |
| 2014 | 44 | +0.2% |
| 2015 | 43.2 | -1.8% |
| 2016 | 40.7 | -5.8% |
| 2017 | 40.6 | -0.2% |
| 2018 | 40.6 | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 40.8 | +0.5% |
| 2020 | 40.8 | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 44.3 | +8.6% |
| 2022 | 44.3 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 44.3 | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 45.4 | +2.5% |
| 2025 | 45.4 | +0.0% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 45.4 is above the median for high income countries, which is 8.7, 5.2× the median. (75 countries reporting)
- Australia's 45.4 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.8, 56.7× the median. (34 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 41.97 | 40.6 | 44 | 7 |
| 2020s | 44.08 | 40.8 | 45.4 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Australia
More reference data data for Australia
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.21 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 28.02 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 38.41 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 2.55 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 38.41 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 4.07 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 6.14 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 118.71 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 170.29 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 13.9 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is marine protected areas in Australia?
- Marine protected areas in Australia was 45.4 in 2025, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest marine protected areas recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 45.4 in 2024.
- What is the lowest marine protected areas recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 40.6 in 2017.
- How does Australia rank for marine protected areas?
- Australia ranks 9th out of 174 countries with data for 2025.
- Is marine protected areas rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 5.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Marine protected areas. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 13 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).