Share of land area that is protected in Belgium
Belgium: Share of land area that is protected was 16.4% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Share of land area that is protected in Belgium, 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
Belgium recorded 16.4% for share of land area that is protected in 2025.
The figure is up 0.6% on the previous year and down 28.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of land area that is protected in Belgium peaked at 24.9% in 2019 and was at its lowest, 15.4%, in 2020.
Belgium ranks 112th of 213 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 13 years of available data.
Share of land area that is protected in Belgium, year by year
| Year | % of total land area | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 22.9% | — |
| 2014 | 22.8% | -0.4% |
| 2015 | 22.8% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 23.3% | +2.2% |
| 2017 | 23.3% | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 23.3% | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 24.9% | +6.9% |
| 2020 | 15.4% | -38.2% |
| 2021 | 15.5% | +0.6% |
| 2022 | 15.6% | +0.6% |
| 2023 | 15.6% | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 16.3% | +4.5% |
| 2025 | 16.4% | +0.6% |
Belgium compared with similar countries
- Belgium's 16.4% is below the median for high income countries, which is 21.5%, 76% of the median. (83 countries reporting)
- Belgium's 16.4% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 22.1%, 74% of the median. (55 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of land area that is protected in Belgium 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | -38.2% | 24.9% | 15.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 23.3% | 22.8% | 24.9% | 7 |
| 2020s | 15.8% | 15.4% | 16.4% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Belgium
- 109 Burkina Faso 16.8% compare
- 110 Antigua and Barbuda 16.5% compare
- 110 Curacao 16.5% compare
- 112 American Samoa 16.4% compare
- 112 Denmark 16.4% compare
- 115 East Timor 16.1% compare
- 115 Marshall Islands 16.1% compare
- 115 Uganda 16.1% compare
More reference data data for Belgium
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.9298 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.291 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 2.09 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.1382 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 2.09 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 3.12 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 1.93 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.61 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 10.4 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.7526 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of land area that is protected in Belgium?
- Share of land area that is protected in Belgium was 16.4% 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 Belgium?
- The highest recorded value was 24.9% in 2019.
- What is the lowest share of land area that is protected recorded in Belgium?
- The lowest recorded value was 15.4% in 2020.
- How does Belgium rank for share of land area that is protected?
- Belgium ranks 112th out of 213 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of land area that is protected rising or falling in Belgium?
- Over the last ten years it is down 28.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Belgium 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.