Share of land area that is protected in Iran
Iran: Share of land area that is protected was 7.8% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Share of land area that is protected in Iran, 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 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.
Share of land area that is protected in Iran, year by year
| Year | % of total land area | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 7.2% | — |
| 2014 | 7.2% | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 7.2% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 8.6% | +19.4% |
| 2017 | 8.6% | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 8.6% | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 8.6% | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 8.6% | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 8.6% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 8.6% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 8.6% | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 8.6% | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 7.8% | -9.3% |
Iran compared with similar countries
- Iran's 7.8% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 15.6%, 50% of the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Iran's 7.8% is below the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 10.0%, 78% of the median. (23 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 8.0% | 7.2% | 8.6% | 7 |
| 2020s | 8.5% | 7.8% | 8.6% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Iran
More reference data data for Iran
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 3.47 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 12.01 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 26.62 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.34 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 26.62 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 11.62 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 3.84 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 46.54 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 109.46 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 7.3 (2050)
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
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.