Share of land area that is protected in Iraq
Iraq: Share of land area that is protected was 1.5% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Share of land area that is protected in Iraq, 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
Iraq recorded 1.5% 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 66.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of land area that is protected in Iraq peaked at 1.5% in 2016 and was at its lowest, 0.3%, in 2013.
Iraq ranks 203rd of 213 countries on this measure, 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 Iraq, year by year
| Year | % of total land area | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 0.3% | — |
| 2014 | 0.9% | +200.0% |
| 2015 | 0.9% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 1.5% | +66.7% |
| 2017 | 1.5% | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 1.5% | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 1.5% | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 1.5% | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 1.5% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 1.5% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 1.5% | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 1.5% | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 1.5% | +0.0% |
Iraq compared with similar countries
- Iraq's 1.5% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 15.6%, 10% of the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Iraq's 1.5% is below the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 10.0%, 15% of the median. (23 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 1.2% | 0.3% | 1.5% | 7 |
| 2020s | 1.5% | 1.5% | 1.5% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Iraq
More reference data data for Iraq
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.2116 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 3.19 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 7.23 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.3911 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 7.23 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.7096 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.235 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 13.21 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 30.36 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 2.13 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of land area that is protected in Iraq?
- Share of land area that is protected in Iraq was 1.5% 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 Iraq?
- The highest recorded value was 1.5% in 2016.
- What is the lowest share of land area that is protected recorded in Iraq?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.3% in 2013.
- How does Iraq rank for share of land area that is protected?
- Iraq ranks 203rd out of 213 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of land area that is protected rising or falling in Iraq?
- Over the last ten years it is up 66.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Iraq 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.