Share of land area that is protected in Japan
Japan: Share of land area that is protected was 29.7% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Share of land area that is protected in Japan, 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
Japan recorded 29.7% for share of land area that is protected in 2025. That is the highest value across all 13 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.7% on the previous year and up 53.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of land area that is protected in Japan peaked at 29.7% in 2021 and was at its lowest, 16.4%, in 2013.
Japan ranks 38th of 213 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 13 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 24.7% | 16.4% | 29.4% | 7 |
| 2020s | 29.6% | 29.4% | 29.7% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Japan
- 35 Sri Lanka 30.8% compare
- 36 Brazil 30.6% compare
- 36 Trinidad and Tobago 30.6% compare
- 39 Austria 29.6% compare
- 40 Mozambique 29.5% compare
- 41 North Macedonia 29.0% compare
More reference data data for Japan
- Spring temperature anomalies 1.24 °C (2026)
- Summer temperature anomalies 0.1053 °C (2026)
- Temperature anomalies by month -0.7172 °C (2026)
- Universal right to vote in practice 2 (2025)
- Autumn temperature anomalies 1.9 °C (2025)
- Winter temperature anomalies 0.5865 °C (2025)
- Consumer price index 118.04 2010 = 100 (2025)
- Universal right to vote 2 (2025)
- Competitive elections 1 (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote 1 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of land area that is protected in Japan?
- Share of land area that is protected in Japan was 29.7% 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 Japan?
- The highest recorded value was 29.7% in 2021.
- What is the lowest share of land area that is protected recorded in Japan?
- The lowest recorded value was 16.4% in 2013.
- How does Japan rank for share of land area that is protected?
- Japan ranks 38th out of 213 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of land area that is protected rising or falling in Japan?
- Over the last ten years it is up 53.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Japan 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.
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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.