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

Latest (2025)
3.5%
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
76th
of 174 countries
All-time high
3.5%
in 2024
All-time low
1.5%
in 2016
Years of data
13
2013–2025

Share of marine territorial waters that are protected in Saudi Arabia, 2013–2025

012342013201920252013: 1.6 % of territorial waters2014: 1.6 % of territorial waters2015: 1.6 % of territorial waters2016: 1.5 % of territorial waters2017: 2.5 % of territorial waters2018: 2.5 % of territorial waters2019: 2.5 % of territorial waters2020: 2.5 % of territorial waters2021: 2.5 % of territorial waters2022: 2.5 % of territorial waters2023: 2.5 % of territorial waters2024: 3.5 % of territorial waters2025: 3.5 % of territorial waters

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.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2010s 2.0% 1.5% 2.5% 7
2020s 2.8% 2.5% 3.5% 6

Countries ranked near Saudi Arabia

  1. 74 Mauritania 3.7% compare
  2. 75 Nicaragua 3.6% compare
  3. 77 Albania 3.4% compare
  4. 78 Kuwait 3.2% compare
  5. 79 Senegal 3.1% compare

See the full ranking of 174 places →

More reference data data for Saudi Arabia

All data for Saudi Arabia →

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

Indicator
Share of marine territorial waters that are protected
Unit
% of territorial waters
Source
Protected Planet WDPA and WD-OECM data, UNEP-WCMC and IUCN, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
174 places, 2,223 data points, 2013–2025
Last refreshed

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.