Share of land area that is protected in India

India: Share of land area that is protected was 7.7% in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
7.7%
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
169th
of 213 countries
All-time high
7.7%
in 2024
All-time low
5.9%
in 2013
Years of data
13
2013–2025

Share of land area that is protected in India, 2013–2025

024682013201920252013: 5.9 % of total land area2014: 5.9 % of total land area2015: 6 % of total land area2016: 6 % of total land area2017: 6 % of total land area2018: 6 % of total land area2019: 6 % of total land area2020: 6 % of total land area2021: 7.5 % of total land area2022: 7.5 % of total land area2023: 7.5 % of total land area2024: 7.7 % of total land area2025: 7.7 % of total land area

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

India recorded 7.7% for share of land area that is protected in 2025. That is the highest value across all 13 years on record.

The figure is up 28.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of land area that is protected in India peaked at 7.7% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 5.9%, in 2013.

That places India 169th out of 213 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 13 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2010s 6.0% 5.9% 6.0% 7
2020s 7.3% 6.0% 7.7% 6

Countries ranked near India

  1. 166 Samoa 7.9% compare
  2. 166 Tunisia 7.9% compare
  3. 168 Iran 7.8% compare
  4. 169 Gambia 7.7% compare
  5. 171 Burundi 7.6% compare
  6. 171 Vietnam 7.6% compare

See the full ranking of 213 places →

More reference data data for India

All data for India →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of land area that is protected in India?
Share of land area that is protected in India was 7.7% 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 India?
The highest recorded value was 7.7% in 2024.
What is the lowest share of land area that is protected recorded in India?
The lowest recorded value was 5.9% in 2013.
How does India rank for share of land area that is protected?
India ranks 169th out of 213 countries with data for 2025.
Is share of land area that is protected rising or falling in India?
Over the last ten years it is up 28.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this India 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

Indicator
Share of land area that is protected
Unit
% of total land area
Source
Protected Planet WDPA and WD-OECM data, UNEP-WCMC and IUCN, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
213 places, 2,746 data points, 2013–2025
Last refreshed

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.