Share of land area that is protected in South Korea
South Korea: Share of land area that is protected was 17.7% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Share of land area that is protected in South Korea, 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 South Korea stood at 17.7%. That is the highest value across all 13 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.7% on the previous year and up 132.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of land area that is protected in South Korea peaked at 17.7% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 6.6%, in 2013.
South Korea ranks 102nd of 213 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 13 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 10.2% | 6.6% | 15.7% | 7 |
| 2020s | 17.1% | 16.7% | 17.7% | 6 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
More reference data data for South Korea
- Spring temperature anomalies 1.1 °C (2026)
- Summer temperature anomalies 0.7164 °C (2026)
- Temperature anomalies by month -0.8996 °C (2026)
- Universal right to vote in practice 2 (2025)
- Autumn temperature anomalies 2.24 °C (2025)
- Winter temperature anomalies 0.9115 °C (2025)
- Consumer price index 135 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 South Korea?
- Share of land area that is protected in South Korea was 17.7% 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 South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 17.7% in 2025.
- What is the lowest share of land area that is protected recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.6% in 2013.
- How does South Korea rank for share of land area that is protected?
- South Korea ranks 102nd out of 213 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of land area that is protected rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 132.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Korea 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.