Share of marine territorial waters that are protected in Netherlands
Netherlands: Share of marine territorial waters that are protected was 33.5% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Share of marine territorial waters that are protected in Netherlands, 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
Netherlands recorded 33.5% for share of marine territorial waters that are protected in 2025.
That represents a change of down 0.3% on the previous year and up 55.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of marine territorial waters that are protected in Netherlands peaked at 33.6% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 21.5%, in 2016.
Netherlands ranks 14th of 174 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 13 years of available data.
Share of marine territorial waters that are protected in Netherlands, year by year
| Year | % of territorial waters | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 21.6% | — |
| 2014 | 21.6% | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 21.6% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 21.5% | -0.5% |
| 2017 | 26.7% | +24.2% |
| 2018 | 26.7% | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 26.9% | +0.7% |
| 2020 | 26.9% | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 26.9% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 26.9% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 26.9% | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 33.6% | +24.9% |
| 2025 | 33.5% | -0.3% |
Netherlands compared with similar countries
- Netherlands's 33.5% is above the median for high income countries, which is 8.7%, 3.9× the median. (75 countries reporting)
- Netherlands's 33.5% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 11.0%, 3.0× the median. (39 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 23.8% | 21.5% | 26.9% | 7 |
| 2020s | 29.1% | 26.9% | 33.6% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Netherlands
- 11 Chile 41.2% compare
- 12 Colombia 41.1% compare
- 13 Belgium 38.3% compare
- 15 Seychelles 32.6% compare
- 16 Northern Mariana Islands 32.4% compare
- 17 New Zealand 30.4% compare
More reference data data for Netherlands
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.74 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.5851 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 3.79 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.1102 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 3.79 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 5.83 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 3.59 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 2.93 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 18.47 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.6002 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of marine territorial waters that are protected in Netherlands?
- Share of marine territorial waters that are protected in Netherlands was 33.5% 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 Netherlands?
- The highest recorded value was 33.6% in 2024.
- What is the lowest share of marine territorial waters that are protected recorded in Netherlands?
- The lowest recorded value was 21.5% in 2016.
- How does Netherlands rank for share of marine territorial waters that are protected?
- Netherlands ranks 14th out of 174 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of marine territorial waters that are protected rising or falling in Netherlands?
- Over the last ten years it is up 55.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Netherlands 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.