Share of land area that is protected in Iran

Iran: Share of land area that is protected was 7.8% in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
7.8%
Change on year
down 9.3%
World rank
168th
of 213 countries
All-time high
8.6%
in 2016
All-time low
7.2%
in 2013
Years of data
13
2013–2025

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

024682013201920252013: 7.2 % of total land area2014: 7.2 % of total land area2015: 7.2 % of total land area2016: 8.6 % of total land area2017: 8.6 % of total land area2018: 8.6 % of total land area2019: 8.6 % of total land area2020: 8.6 % of total land area2021: 8.6 % of total land area2022: 8.6 % of total land area2023: 8.6 % of total land area2024: 8.6 % of total land area2025: 7.8 % 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

In 2025, share of land area that is protected in Iran stood at 7.8%.

That represents a change of down 9.3% on the previous year and up 8.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of land area that is protected in Iran peaked at 8.6% in 2016 and was at its lowest, 7.2%, in 2013.

That places Iran 168th 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 8.0% 7.2% 8.6% 7
2020s 8.5% 7.8% 8.6% 6

Countries ranked near Iran

  1. 165 El Salvador 8.3% compare
  2. 166 Samoa 7.9% compare
  3. 166 Tunisia 7.9% compare
  4. 169 Gambia 7.7% compare
  5. 169 India 7.7% compare
  6. 171 Burundi 7.6% compare
  7. 171 Vietnam 7.6% compare

See the full ranking of 213 places →

More reference data data for Iran

All data for Iran →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of land area that is protected in Iran?
Share of land area that is protected in Iran was 7.8% 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 Iran?
The highest recorded value was 8.6% in 2016.
What is the lowest share of land area that is protected recorded in Iran?
The lowest recorded value was 7.2% in 2013.
How does Iran rank for share of land area that is protected?
Iran ranks 168th out of 213 countries with data for 2025.
Is share of land area that is protected rising or falling in Iran?
Over the last ten years it is up 8.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Iran 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.