Share of marine territorial waters that are protected in Northern Mariana Islands
Northern Mariana Islands: Share of marine territorial waters that are protected was 32.4% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Share of marine territorial waters that are protected in Northern Mariana Islands, 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
Northern Mariana Islands recorded 32.4% for share of marine territorial waters that are protected in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 2.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of marine territorial waters that are protected in Northern Mariana Islands peaked at 100.0% in 2014 and was at its lowest, 32.0%, in 2020.
Northern Mariana Islands ranks 16th of 174 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 13 years of available data.
Share of marine territorial waters that are protected in Northern Mariana Islands, year by year
| Year | % of territorial waters | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 32.1% | — |
| 2014 | 100.0% | +211.5% |
| 2015 | 33.2% | -66.8% |
| 2016 | 33.2% | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 33.3% | +0.3% |
| 2018 | 33.3% | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 33.3% | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 32.0% | -3.9% |
| 2021 | 33.2% | +3.8% |
| 2022 | 33.2% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 32.2% | -3.0% |
| 2024 | 32.4% | +0.6% |
| 2025 | 32.4% | +0.0% |
Northern Mariana Islands compared with similar countries
- Northern Mariana Islands's 32.4% is above the median for high income countries, which is 8.7%, 3.7× the median. (75 countries reporting)
- Northern Mariana Islands's 32.4% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.8%, 40.5× the median. (34 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of marine territorial waters that are protected in Northern Mariana Islands 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | +211.5% | 32.1% | 100.0% |
| 2015 | -66.8% | 100.0% | 33.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 42.6% | 32.1% | 100.0% | 7 |
| 2020s | 32.6% | 32.0% | 33.2% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Northern Mariana Islands
- 13 Belgium 38.3% compare
- 14 Netherlands 33.5% compare
- 15 Seychelles 32.6% compare
- 17 New Zealand 30.4% compare
- 18 Costa Rica 28.4% compare
- 19 Denmark 27.1% compare
More reference data data for Northern Mariana Islands
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - IPCC Agriculture 0 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 (AR5) - IPCC Agriculture 0 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) (AR5) - IPCC Agriculture 0 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CH4) - IPCC Agriculture 0 (2019)
- Global number of reported disasters by size, gaps filled 1 events (2018)
- Foreign aid received as grants and concessional loans, annual growth -41.02 % change on previous year (1999)
- Share of men and women expected to survive to the age of 65 89.9% (2024)
- Seafood production: wild fish catch vs. aquaculture, annual growth 0 % change on previous year (2024)
- Number of confirmed cases of tetanus, gaps filled 0 Cases (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of marine territorial waters that are protected in Northern Mariana Islands?
- Share of marine territorial waters that are protected in Northern Mariana Islands was 32.4% 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 Northern Mariana Islands?
- The highest recorded value was 100.0% in 2014.
- What is the lowest share of marine territorial waters that are protected recorded in Northern Mariana Islands?
- The lowest recorded value was 32.0% in 2020.
- How does Northern Mariana Islands rank for share of marine territorial waters that are protected?
- Northern Mariana Islands ranks 16th out of 174 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of marine territorial waters that are protected rising or falling in Northern Mariana Islands?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Northern Mariana Islands 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.