Share of marine territorial waters that are protected in South Korea
South Korea: Share of marine territorial waters that are protected was 2.3% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Share of marine territorial waters that are protected in South Korea, 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 South Korea stood at 2.3%.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 4.5% on the previous year and up 130.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of marine territorial waters that are protected in South Korea peaked at 2.5% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 1.0%, in 2013.
South Korea ranks 84th of 174 countries on this measure, 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 South Korea, year by year
| Year | % of territorial waters | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 1.0% | — |
| 2014 | 1.0% | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 1.0% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 1.6% | +60.0% |
| 2017 | 1.6% | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 1.6% | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 2.4% | +50.0% |
| 2020 | 2.5% | +4.2% |
| 2021 | 2.5% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 2.5% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 2.5% | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 2.2% | -12.0% |
| 2025 | 2.3% | +4.5% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 2.3% is below the median for high income countries, which is 8.7%, 26% of the median. (75 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 2.3% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.8%, 2.9× the median. (34 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 1.5% | 1.0% | 2.4% | 7 |
| 2020s | 2.4% | 2.2% | 2.5% | 6 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
More reference data data for South Korea
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.9638 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.9281 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 3.55 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.2074 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 3.55 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 3.23 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 4.37 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 5.17 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 19.85 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.13 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of marine territorial waters that are protected in South Korea?
- Share of marine territorial waters that are protected in South Korea was 2.3% 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 South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 2.5% in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of marine territorial waters that are protected recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.0% in 2013.
- How does South Korea rank for share of marine territorial waters that are protected?
- South Korea ranks 84th out of 174 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of marine territorial waters that are protected rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 130.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Korea 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.