Share of land area that is protected in Benin
Benin: Share of land area that is protected was 36.1% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Share of land area that is protected in Benin, 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 Benin is 36.1%, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 13 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 21.5% on the previous year and up 24.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of land area that is protected in Benin peaked at 36.1% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 28.9%, in 2015.
Benin ranks 26th of 213 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 13 years of available data.
Share of land area that is protected in Benin, year by year
| Year | % of total land area | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 29.6% | — |
| 2014 | 29.6% | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 28.9% | -2.4% |
| 2016 | 29.6% | +2.4% |
| 2017 | 29.6% | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 29.6% | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 29.6% | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 29.6% | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 29.6% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 29.6% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 29.6% | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 29.7% | +0.3% |
| 2025 | 36.1% | +21.5% |
Benin compared with similar countries
- Benin's 36.1% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 18.8%, 1.9× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Benin's 36.1% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 16.9%, 2.1× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 29.5% | 28.9% | 29.6% | 7 |
| 2020s | 30.7% | 29.6% | 36.1% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Benin
More reference data data for Benin
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.1979 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.67 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 2.03 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.1562 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 2.03 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.6635 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.5244 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 8.56 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 10.71 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.8505 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of land area that is protected in Benin?
- Share of land area that is protected in Benin was 36.1% 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 Benin?
- The highest recorded value was 36.1% in 2025.
- What is the lowest share of land area that is protected recorded in Benin?
- The lowest recorded value was 28.9% in 2015.
- How does Benin rank for share of land area that is protected?
- Benin ranks 26th out of 213 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of land area that is protected rising or falling in Benin?
- Over the last ten years it is up 24.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Benin 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.