Share of marine territorial waters that are protected in Bulgaria
Bulgaria: Share of marine territorial waters that are protected was 8.2% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Share of marine territorial waters that are protected in Bulgaria, 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
The most recent figure for share of marine territorial waters that are protected in Bulgaria is 8.2%, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 13 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of marine territorial waters that are protected in Bulgaria peaked at 8.2% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 2.9%, in 2013.
That places Bulgaria 57th out of 174 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 13 years of available data.
Share of marine territorial waters that are protected in Bulgaria, year by year
| Year | % of territorial waters | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 2.9% | — |
| 2014 | 2.9% | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 8.1% | +179.3% |
| 2016 | 8.1% | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 8.1% | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 8.1% | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 8.1% | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 8.1% | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 8.1% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 8.1% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 8.1% | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 8.2% | +1.2% |
| 2025 | 8.2% | +0.0% |
Bulgaria compared with similar countries
- Bulgaria's 8.2% is below the median for high income countries, which is 8.7%, 94% of the median. (75 countries reporting)
- Bulgaria's 8.2% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 11.0%, 75% of the median. (39 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 6.6% | 2.9% | 8.1% | 7 |
| 2020s | 8.1% | 8.1% | 8.2% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Bulgaria
More reference data data for Bulgaria
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.3067 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.2728 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 1.73 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.2506 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 1.73 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.03 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.608 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.02 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 7.74 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.36 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of marine territorial waters that are protected in Bulgaria?
- Share of marine territorial waters that are protected in Bulgaria was 8.2% 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 Bulgaria?
- The highest recorded value was 8.2% in 2024.
- What is the lowest share of marine territorial waters that are protected recorded in Bulgaria?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.9% in 2013.
- How does Bulgaria rank for share of marine territorial waters that are protected?
- Bulgaria ranks 57th out of 174 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of marine territorial waters that are protected rising or falling in Bulgaria?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Bulgaria 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.
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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.