Share of marine territorial waters that are protected in Australia
Australia: Share of marine territorial waters that are protected was 45.4% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Share of marine territorial waters that are protected in Australia, 2013–2025
Source: Protected Planet WDPA and WD-OECM data, UNEP-WCMC and IUCN, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of territorial waters.
Analysis
Australia recorded 45.4% for share of marine territorial waters that are protected 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, share of marine territorial waters that are protected 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.
Share of marine territorial waters that are protected in Australia, year by year
| Year | % of territorial waters | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 43.9% | — |
| 2014 | 44.0% | +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 | 42.0% | 40.6% | 44.0% | 7 |
| 2020s | 44.1% | 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 share of marine territorial waters that are protected in Australia?
- Share of marine territorial waters that are protected in Australia was 45.4% in 2025, according to Protected Planet WDPA and WD-OECM data, UNEP-WCMC and IUCN, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of marine territorial waters that are protected recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 45.4% in 2024.
- What is the lowest share of marine territorial waters that are protected recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 40.6% in 2017.
- How does Australia rank for share of marine territorial waters that are protected?
- Australia ranks 9th out of 174 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of marine territorial waters that are protected 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 Protected Planet WDPA and WD-OECM data, UNEP-WCMC and IUCN, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of marine territorial waters that are protected. 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).
About this data
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.