Share of land area that is protected in Bhutan
Bhutan: Share of land area that is protected was 51.6% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Share of land area that is protected in Bhutan, 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
In 2025, share of land area that is protected in Bhutan stood at 51.6%. That is the highest value across all 13 years on record.
The figure is up 7.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of land area that is protected in Bhutan peaked at 51.6% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 28.8%, in 2013.
Bhutan ranks 4th of 213 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 13 years of available data.
Share of land area that is protected in Bhutan, year by year
| Year | % of total land area | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 28.8% | — |
| 2014 | 48.0% | +66.7% |
| 2015 | 48.0% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 48.0% | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 48.0% | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 48.0% | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 48.0% | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 49.7% | +3.5% |
| 2021 | 49.7% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 49.7% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 49.7% | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 51.6% | +3.8% |
| 2025 | 51.6% | +0.0% |
Bhutan compared with similar countries
- Bhutan's 51.6% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 18.8%, 2.7× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Bhutan's 51.6% is above the median for South Asia, which is 15.7%, 3.3× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 45.3% | 28.8% | 48.0% | 7 |
| 2020s | 50.3% | 49.7% | 51.6% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Bhutan
- 1 Seychelles 68.1% compare
- 2 New Caledonia 59.6% compare
- 3 Venezuela 56.8% compare
- 5 Liechtenstein 44.8% compare
- 6 Bulgaria 44.3% compare
- 7 Turks and Caicos Islands 43.5% compare
More reference data data for Bhutan
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.0217 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.0671 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0.1192 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0167 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 0.1192 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.0727 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.0153 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.3489 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0.5881 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0909 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of land area that is protected in Bhutan?
- Share of land area that is protected in Bhutan was 51.6% 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 Bhutan?
- The highest recorded value was 51.6% in 2024.
- What is the lowest share of land area that is protected recorded in Bhutan?
- The lowest recorded value was 28.8% in 2013.
- How does Bhutan rank for share of land area that is protected?
- Bhutan ranks 4th out of 213 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of land area that is protected rising or falling in Bhutan?
- Over the last ten years it is up 7.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Bhutan 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.