Terrestrial protected areas in Australia
Australia: Terrestrial protected areas was 22 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
22
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
77th
of 213 countries
All-time high
22
in 2024
All-time low
12.9
in 2013
Years of data
13
2013–2025
Terrestrial protected areas in Australia, 2013–2025
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for terrestrial protected areas in Australia is 22, 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, terrestrial protected areas in Australia peaked at 22 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.
Terrestrial protected areas in Australia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 12.9 | — |
| 2014 | 14.6 | +13.2% |
| 2015 | 14.7 | +0.7% |
| 2016 | 17 | +15.6% |
| 2017 | 19.3 | +13.5% |
| 2018 | 19.3 | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 19.4 | +0.5% |
| 2020 | 20.3 | +4.6% |
| 2021 | 20.4 | +0.5% |
| 2022 | 20.4 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 20.4 | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 22 | +7.8% |
| 2025 | 22 | +0.0% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 22 is above the median for high income countries, which is 21.5, 1.0× the median. (83 countries reporting)
- Australia's 22 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 15.8, 1.4× the median. (36 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 16.74 | 12.9 | 19.4 | 7 |
| 2020s | 20.92 | 20.3 | 22 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Australia
More reference data data for Australia
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.21 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 28.02 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 38.41 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 2.55 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 38.41 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 4.07 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 6.14 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 118.71 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 170.29 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 13.9 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is terrestrial protected areas in Australia?
- Terrestrial protected areas in Australia was 22 in 2025, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest terrestrial protected areas recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 22 in 2024.
- What is the lowest terrestrial protected areas recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 12.9 in 2013.
- How does Australia rank for terrestrial protected areas?
- Australia ranks 77th out of 213 countries with data for 2025.
- Is terrestrial protected areas 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 Our World in Data, published as part of Terrestrial protected areas. 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).