Share of land area that is protected in Malaysia
Malaysia: Share of land area that is protected was 13.3% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Share of land area that is protected in Malaysia, 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
The most recent figure for share of land area that is protected in Malaysia is 13.3%, measured in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 13 years on record.
That represents a change of down 30.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of land area that is protected in Malaysia peaked at 19.1% in 2013 and was at its lowest, 13.3%, in 2020.
Malaysia ranks 136th of 213 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 13 years of available data.
Share of land area that is protected in Malaysia, year by year
| Year | % of total land area | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 19.1% | — |
| 2014 | 19.1% | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 19.1% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 19.1% | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 19.1% | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 19.1% | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 19.1% | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 13.3% | -30.4% |
| 2021 | 13.3% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 13.3% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 13.3% | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 13.3% | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 13.3% | +0.0% |
Malaysia compared with similar countries
- Malaysia's 13.3% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 15.6%, 85% of the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Malaysia's 13.3% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 15.8%, 84% of the median. (36 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 19.1% | 19.1% | 19.1% | 7 |
| 2020s | 13.3% | 13.3% | 13.3% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Malaysia
More reference data data for Malaysia
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.7102 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.5869 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 4.62 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.1487 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 4.62 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 2.38 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 1.64 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 3.29 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 21.1 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.8098 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of land area that is protected in Malaysia?
- Share of land area that is protected in Malaysia was 13.3% 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 Malaysia?
- The highest recorded value was 19.1% in 2013.
- What is the lowest share of land area that is protected recorded in Malaysia?
- The lowest recorded value was 13.3% in 2020.
- How does Malaysia rank for share of land area that is protected?
- Malaysia ranks 136th out of 213 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of land area that is protected rising or falling in Malaysia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 30.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Malaysia 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.