Share of marine territorial waters that are protected in Denmark
Denmark: Share of marine territorial waters that are protected was 27.1% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Share of marine territorial waters that are protected in Denmark, 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
In 2025, share of marine territorial waters that are protected in Denmark stood at 27.1%. That is the highest value across all 13 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 45.7% on the previous year and up 48.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of marine territorial waters that are protected in Denmark peaked at 27.1% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 17.6%, in 2013.
That places Denmark 19th 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 Denmark, year by year
| Year | % of territorial waters | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 17.6% | — |
| 2014 | 18.2% | +3.4% |
| 2015 | 18.2% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 17.8% | -2.2% |
| 2017 | 18.2% | +2.2% |
| 2018 | 17.8% | -2.2% |
| 2019 | 17.9% | +0.6% |
| 2020 | 18.3% | +2.2% |
| 2021 | 18.3% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 18.3% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 18.3% | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 18.6% | +1.6% |
| 2025 | 27.1% | +45.7% |
Denmark compared with similar countries
- Denmark's 27.1% is above the median for high income countries, which is 8.7%, 3.1× the median. (75 countries reporting)
- Denmark's 27.1% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 11.0%, 2.5× the median. (39 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of marine territorial waters that are protected in Denmark changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | +45.7% | 18.6% | 27.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 18.0% | 17.6% | 18.2% | 7 |
| 2020s | 19.8% | 18.3% | 27.1% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Denmark
- 16 Northern Mariana Islands 32.4% compare
- 17 New Zealand 30.4% compare
- 18 Costa Rica 28.4% compare
- 20 Gabon 26.8% compare
- 21 Brazil 26.6% compare
- 22 Panama 26.3% compare
More reference data data for Denmark
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.1 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.1915 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 2.65 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.4109 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 2.65 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 3.7 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 2.16 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.03 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 12.99 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 2.24 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of marine territorial waters that are protected in Denmark?
- Share of marine territorial waters that are protected in Denmark was 27.1% 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 Denmark?
- The highest recorded value was 27.1% in 2025.
- What is the lowest share of marine territorial waters that are protected recorded in Denmark?
- The lowest recorded value was 17.6% in 2013.
- How does Denmark rank for share of marine territorial waters that are protected?
- Denmark ranks 19th out of 174 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of marine territorial waters that are protected rising or falling in Denmark?
- Over the last ten years it is up 48.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Denmark 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.