Share of land area that is protected in Bulgaria
Bulgaria: Share of land area that is protected was 44.3% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Share of land area that is protected in Bulgaria, 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 Bulgaria is 44.3%, measured in 2025.
The figure is up 9.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of land area that is protected in Bulgaria peaked at 45.2% in 2013 and was at its lowest, 34.7%, in 2016.
Bulgaria ranks 6th 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 Bulgaria, year by year
| Year | % of total land area | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 45.2% | — |
| 2014 | 40.6% | -10.2% |
| 2015 | 40.6% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 34.7% | -14.5% |
| 2017 | 34.7% | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 34.7% | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 40.6% | +17.0% |
| 2020 | 41.0% | +1.0% |
| 2021 | 41.0% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 41.0% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 41.0% | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 44.3% | +8.0% |
| 2025 | 44.3% | +0.0% |
Bulgaria compared with similar countries
- Bulgaria's 44.3% is above the median for high income countries, which is 21.5%, 2.1× the median. (83 countries reporting)
- Bulgaria's 44.3% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 22.1%, 2.0× the median. (55 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 38.7% | 34.7% | 45.2% | 7 |
| 2020s | 42.1% | 41.0% | 44.3% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Bulgaria
More reference data data for Bulgaria
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.3067 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.2728 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 1.73 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.2506 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 1.73 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.03 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.608 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.02 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 7.74 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.36 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of land area that is protected in Bulgaria?
- Share of land area that is protected in Bulgaria was 44.3% 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 Bulgaria?
- The highest recorded value was 45.2% in 2013.
- What is the lowest share of land area that is protected recorded in Bulgaria?
- The lowest recorded value was 34.7% in 2016.
- How does Bulgaria rank for share of land area that is protected?
- Bulgaria ranks 6th out of 213 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of land area that is protected rising or falling in Bulgaria?
- Over the last ten years it is up 9.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Bulgaria 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.