Share of land area that is protected in France
France: Share of land area that is protected was 28.8% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Share of land area that is protected in France, 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
France recorded 28.8% for share of land area that is protected in 2025. That is the highest value across all 13 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.7% on the previous year and up 12.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of land area that is protected in France peaked at 28.8% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 25.4%, in 2013.
That places France 44th out of 213 countries with data for 2025, putting it 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 France, year by year
| Year | % of total land area | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 25.4% | — |
| 2014 | 25.6% | +0.8% |
| 2015 | 25.6% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 25.8% | +0.8% |
| 2017 | 26.0% | +0.8% |
| 2018 | 25.8% | -0.8% |
| 2019 | 26.3% | +1.9% |
| 2020 | 27.3% | +3.8% |
| 2021 | 28.0% | +2.6% |
| 2022 | 28.4% | +1.4% |
| 2023 | 28.4% | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 28.6% | +0.7% |
| 2025 | 28.8% | +0.7% |
France compared with similar countries
- France's 28.8% is above the median for high income countries, which is 21.5%, 1.3× the median. (83 countries reporting)
- France's 28.8% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 22.1%, 1.3× the median. (55 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 25.8% | 25.4% | 26.3% | 7 |
| 2020s | 28.2% | 27.3% | 28.8% | 6 |
Countries ranked near France
More reference data data for France
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 5.48 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 2.93 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 22.63 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 2.81 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 22.63 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 18.36 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 11.75 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 14.49 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 106.68 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 15.3 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of land area that is protected in France?
- Share of land area that is protected in France was 28.8% 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 France?
- The highest recorded value was 28.8% in 2025.
- What is the lowest share of land area that is protected recorded in France?
- The lowest recorded value was 25.4% in 2013.
- How does France rank for share of land area that is protected?
- France ranks 44th out of 213 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of land area that is protected rising or falling in France?
- Over the last ten years it is up 12.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this France 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.