Share of marine territorial waters that are protected in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia: Share of marine territorial waters that are protected was 3.5% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Share of marine territorial waters that are protected in Saudi Arabia, 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 Saudi Arabia is 3.5%, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 13 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 118.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of marine territorial waters that are protected in Saudi Arabia peaked at 3.5% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 1.5%, in 2016.
That places Saudi Arabia 76th out of 174 countries with data for 2025, putting it 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 Saudi Arabia, year by year
| Year | % of territorial waters | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 1.6% | — |
| 2014 | 1.6% | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 1.6% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 1.5% | -6.3% |
| 2017 | 2.5% | +66.7% |
| 2018 | 2.5% | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 2.5% | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 2.5% | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 2.5% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 2.5% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 2.5% | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 3.5% | +40.0% |
| 2025 | 3.5% | +0.0% |
Saudi Arabia compared with similar countries
- Saudi Arabia's 3.5% is below the median for high income countries, which is 8.7%, 40% of the median. (75 countries reporting)
- Saudi Arabia's 3.5% is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 1.0%, 3.5× the median. (22 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 2.0% | 1.5% | 2.5% | 7 |
| 2020s | 2.8% | 2.5% | 3.5% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Saudi Arabia
More reference data data for Saudi Arabia
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.1847 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.4 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 2.44 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.1771 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 2.44 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.6194 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.2207 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 6.07 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 10.64 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.9641 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of marine territorial waters that are protected in Saudi Arabia?
- Share of marine territorial waters that are protected in Saudi Arabia was 3.5% 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 Saudi Arabia?
- The highest recorded value was 3.5% in 2024.
- What is the lowest share of marine territorial waters that are protected recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.5% in 2016.
- How does Saudi Arabia rank for share of marine territorial waters that are protected?
- Saudi Arabia ranks 76th out of 174 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of marine territorial waters that are protected rising or falling in Saudi Arabia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 118.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Saudi Arabia 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.