Share of land area that is protected in Australia
Australia: Share of land area that is protected was 22.0% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Share of land area that is protected in Australia, 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 total land area.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of land area that is protected in Australia is 22.0%, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 13 years on record.
The figure is up 49.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of land area that is protected in Australia peaked at 22.0% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 12.9%, in 2013.
That places Australia 77th out of 213 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
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 16.7% | 12.9% | 19.4% | 7 |
| 2020s | 20.9% | 20.3% | 22.0% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Australia
More reference data data for Australia
- Spring temperature anomalies -0.4864 °C (2026)
- Summer temperature anomalies 0.8615 °C (2026)
- Temperature anomalies by month 1.13 °C (2026)
- Universal right to vote in practice 2 (2025)
- Autumn temperature anomalies 0.0026 °C (2025)
- Winter temperature anomalies 0.4713 °C (2025)
- Consumer price index 148.46 2010 = 100 (2025)
- Universal right to vote 2 (2025)
- Competitive elections 1 (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote 1 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of land area that is protected in Australia?
- Share of land area that is protected in Australia was 22.0% 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 land area that is protected recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 22.0% in 2024.
- What is the lowest share of land area that is protected recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 12.9% in 2013.
- How does Australia rank for share of land area that is protected?
- Australia ranks 77th out of 213 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of land area that is protected rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 49.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Australia 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 land area that is 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
Terrestrial protected areas are areas of at least 1,000 hectares that are designated by national authorities in order to preserve their ecosystem services and cultural values.