Share of marine territorial waters that are protected in Greenland
Greenland: Share of marine territorial waters that are protected was 4.2% in 2025. ▬ Flat
Share of marine territorial waters that are protected in Greenland, 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 Greenland is 4.2%, measured in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 13 years on record.
The figure is down 6.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of marine territorial waters that are protected in Greenland peaked at 4.5% in 2013 and was at its lowest, 4.2%, in 2024.
Greenland ranks 71st of 174 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
Share of marine territorial waters that are protected in Greenland, year by year
| Year | % of territorial waters | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 4.5% | — |
| 2014 | 4.5% | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 4.5% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 4.5% | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 4.5% | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 4.5% | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 4.5% | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 4.5% | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 4.5% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 4.5% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 4.5% | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 4.2% | -6.7% |
| 2025 | 4.2% | +0.0% |
Greenland compared with similar countries
- Greenland's 4.2% is below the median for high income countries, which is 8.7%, 48% of the median. (75 countries reporting)
- Greenland's 4.2% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 11.0%, 38% of the median. (39 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 4.5% | 4.5% | 4.5% | 7 |
| 2020s | 4.4% | 4.2% | 4.5% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Greenland
- 68 Greece 4.7% compare
- 69 Saint Kitts and Nevis 4.5% compare
- 70 Venezuela 4.4% compare
- 71 Cuba 4.2% compare
- 71 Turkmenistan 4.2% compare
- 74 Mauritania 3.7% compare
More reference data data for Greenland
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) (AR5) - IPCC Agriculture 0.2128 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0.0004 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - IPCC Agriculture 0.0986 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 (AR5) - IPCC Agriculture 0.1141 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CH4) - IPCC Agriculture 0.0041 (2019)
- Official exchange rate, LCU per USD, period average 6.82 (2017)
- Annual precipitation, annual growth rate 7.26 % change on previous year (2025)
- Seafood production: wild fish catch vs. aquaculture, per unit of GDP 0 metric tons per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Seafood production: wild fish catch vs. aquaculture, per capita 0.0005 metric tons per person (2024)
- Seafood production: wild fish catch vs. aquaculture 30 metric tons (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of marine territorial waters that are protected in Greenland?
- Share of marine territorial waters that are protected in Greenland was 4.2% 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 Greenland?
- The highest recorded value was 4.5% in 2013.
- What is the lowest share of marine territorial waters that are protected recorded in Greenland?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.2% in 2024.
- How does Greenland rank for share of marine territorial waters that are protected?
- Greenland ranks 71st out of 174 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of marine territorial waters that are protected rising or falling in Greenland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 6.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this Greenland 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.