Share of marine territorial waters that are protected in United States
United States: Share of marine territorial waters that are protected was 19.0% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Share of marine territorial waters that are protected in United States, 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 United States stood at 19.0%.
That represents a change of down 31.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of marine territorial waters that are protected in United States peaked at 41.1% in 2016 and was at its lowest, 10.8%, in 2014.
United States ranks 32nd of 174 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 13 years of available data.
Share of marine territorial waters that are protected in United States, year by year
| Year | % of territorial waters | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 13.3% | — |
| 2014 | 10.8% | -18.8% |
| 2015 | 27.7% | +156.5% |
| 2016 | 41.1% | +48.4% |
| 2017 | 41.0% | -0.2% |
| 2018 | 41.1% | +0.2% |
| 2019 | 41.1% | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 37.4% | -9.0% |
| 2021 | 19.0% | -49.2% |
| 2022 | 19.0% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 19.1% | +0.5% |
| 2024 | 19.0% | -0.5% |
| 2025 | 19.0% | +0.0% |
United States compared with similar countries
- United States's 19.0% is above the median for high income countries, which is 8.7%, 2.2× the median. (75 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of marine territorial waters that are protected in United States 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | +156.5% | 10.8% | 27.7% |
| 2021 | -49.2% | 37.4% | 19.0% |
| 2016 | +48.4% | 27.7% | 41.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 30.9% | 10.8% | 41.1% | 7 |
| 2020s | 22.1% | 19.0% | 37.4% | 6 |
Countries ranked near United States
More reference data data for United States
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 19.34 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 24.55 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 119.42 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 20.7 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 119.42 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 64.85 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 52.14 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 133.45 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 589.96 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 112.69 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of marine territorial waters that are protected in United States?
- Share of marine territorial waters that are protected in United States was 19.0% 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 United States?
- The highest recorded value was 41.1% in 2016.
- What is the lowest share of marine territorial waters that are protected recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 10.8% in 2014.
- How does United States rank for share of marine territorial waters that are protected?
- United States ranks 32nd out of 174 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of marine territorial waters that are protected rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is down 31.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this United States 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.