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.
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
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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.