Terrestrial protected areas in South Korea
South Korea: Terrestrial protected areas was 17.7 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Terrestrial protected areas in South Korea, 2013–2025
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2025, terrestrial protected areas 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, terrestrial protected areas 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.
Terrestrial protected areas in South Korea, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 6.6 | — |
| 2014 | 7.6 | +15.2% |
| 2015 | 7.6 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 11.2 | +47.4% |
| 2017 | 11.2 | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 11.7 | +4.5% |
| 2019 | 15.7 | +34.2% |
| 2020 | 16.7 | +6.4% |
| 2021 | 17 | +1.8% |
| 2022 | 17 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 17 | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 17.4 | +2.4% |
| 2025 | 17.7 | +1.7% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 17.7 is below the median for high income countries, which is 21.5, 82% of the median. (83 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 17.7 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 15.8, 1.1× the median. (36 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Terrestrial protected areas in South Korea changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | +47.4% | 7.6 | 11.2 |
| 2019 | +34.2% | 11.7 | 15.7 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 10.23 | 6.6 | 15.7 | 7 |
| 2020s | 17.13 | 16.7 | 17.7 | 6 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
More reference data data for South Korea
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 (AR5) - Burning - Crop 31.73 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 (AR5) - Manure Management 880.21 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 (AR5) - IPCC Agriculture 12,007 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.13 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 4.37 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 5.17 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 19.85 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 (AR5) - Enteric 6,875 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.9638 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) (AR5) - Manure Management 2,038 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is terrestrial protected areas in South Korea?
- Terrestrial protected areas in South Korea was 17.7 in 2025, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest terrestrial protected areas recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 17.7 in 2025.
- What is the lowest terrestrial protected areas recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.6 in 2013.
- How does South Korea rank for terrestrial protected areas?
- South Korea ranks 102nd out of 213 countries with data for 2025.
- Is terrestrial protected areas 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 Our World in Data, published as part of Terrestrial protected areas. 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).