Share of marine territorial waters that are protected in Belize
Belize: Share of marine territorial waters that are protected was 20.4% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Share of marine territorial waters that are protected in Belize, 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
Belize recorded 20.4% for share of marine territorial waters that are protected in 2025. That is the highest value across all 13 years on record.
That represents a change of up 102.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of marine territorial waters that are protected in Belize peaked at 20.4% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 6.9%, in 2013.
That places Belize 29th out of 174 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 13 years of available data.
Share of marine territorial waters that are protected in Belize, year by year
| Year | % of territorial waters | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 6.9% | — |
| 2014 | 10.1% | +46.4% |
| 2015 | 10.1% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 10.1% | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 10.1% | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 10.1% | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 10.1% | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 11.0% | +8.9% |
| 2021 | 11.0% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 11.0% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 11.0% | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 20.4% | +85.5% |
| 2025 | 20.4% | +0.0% |
Belize compared with similar countries
- Belize's 20.4% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.9%, 21.5× the median. (50 countries reporting)
- Belize's 20.4% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 2.0%, 10.5× the median. (40 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 9.6% | 6.9% | 10.1% | 7 |
| 2020s | 14.1% | 11.0% | 20.4% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Belize
More reference data data for Belize
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.0139 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.0337 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0.0813 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0041 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 0.0813 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.0467 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.0206 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.1856 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0.399 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0225 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of marine territorial waters that are protected in Belize?
- Share of marine territorial waters that are protected in Belize was 20.4% 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 Belize?
- The highest recorded value was 20.4% in 2024.
- What is the lowest share of marine territorial waters that are protected recorded in Belize?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.9% in 2013.
- How does Belize rank for share of marine territorial waters that are protected?
- Belize ranks 29th out of 174 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of marine territorial waters that are protected rising or falling in Belize?
- Over the last ten years it is up 102.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Belize 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.