Share of land area that is protected in Maldives
Maldives: Share of land area that is protected was 3.0% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Share of land area that is protected in Maldives, 2014–2025
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
Maldives recorded 3.0% for share of land area that is protected in 2025. That is the highest value across all 12 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 172.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of land area that is protected in Maldives peaked at 3.0% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 0.7%, in 2014.
That places Maldives 194th out of 213 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 12 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 1.1% | 0.7% | 1.2% | 6 |
| 2020s | 2.5% | 2.3% | 3.0% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Maldives
- 191 Papua New Guinea 3.7% compare
- 192 Afghanistan 3.6% compare
- 193 Uruguay 3.1% compare
- 195 Northern Mariana Islands 2.8% compare
- 195 Sudan 2.8% compare
- 197 Faroe Islands 2.4% compare
- 197 North Korea 2.4% compare
- 197 Solomon Islands 2.4% compare
More reference data data for Maldives
- Universal right to vote in practice 2 (2025)
- Consumer price index 150.41 2010 = 100 (2025)
- Universal right to vote 2 (2025)
- Competitive elections 1 (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote 1 (2025)
- Elected parliament 1 (2025)
- Chief executive of the government is elected 1 (2025)
- Democracy 6 (2025)
- Civil liberties rating 5 (2025)
- Free country 1 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of land area that is protected in Maldives?
- Share of land area that is protected in Maldives was 3.0% 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 Maldives?
- The highest recorded value was 3.0% in 2024.
- What is the lowest share of land area that is protected recorded in Maldives?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.7% in 2014.
- How does Maldives rank for share of land area that is protected?
- Maldives ranks 194th out of 213 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of land area that is protected rising or falling in Maldives?
- Over the last ten years it is up 172.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Maldives 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 — 12 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.