Share of land area that is protected in Malta

Malta: Share of land area that is protected was 29.0% in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
29.0%
Change on year
up 0.3%
Rank
41st
of 213 regions
All-time high
30.6%
in 2020
All-time low
23.0%
in 2013
Years of data
13
2013–2025

Share of land area that is protected in Malta, 2013–2025

01020302013201920252013: 23 % of total land area2014: 23.2 % of total land area2015: 23.2 % of total land area2016: 24.1 % of total land area2017: 30.3 % of total land area2018: 30.3 % of total land area2019: 30.2 % of total land area2020: 30.6 % of total land area2021: 30.6 % of total land area2022: 30.6 % of total land area2023: 30.6 % of total land area2024: 28.9 % of total land area2025: 29 % of total land area

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 Malta stood at 29.0%.

The figure is up 0.3% on the previous year and up 25.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of land area that is protected in Malta peaked at 30.6% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 23.0%, in 2013.

That places Malta 41st out of 213 regions with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 13 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2010s 26.3% 23.0% 30.3% 7
2020s 30.1% 28.9% 30.6% 6

Countries ranked near Malta

  1. 38 Japan 29.7% compare
  2. 39 Austria 29.6% compare
  3. 40 Mozambique 29.5% compare
  4. 41 North Macedonia 29.0% compare
  5. 43 Oman 28.9% compare
  6. 44 France 28.8% compare

See the full ranking of 213 places →

More reference data data for Malta

All data for Malta →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of land area that is protected in Malta?
Share of land area that is protected in Malta was 29.0% 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 Malta?
The highest recorded value was 30.6% in 2020.
What is the lowest share of land area that is protected recorded in Malta?
The lowest recorded value was 23.0% in 2013.
How does Malta rank for share of land area that is protected?
Malta ranks 41st out of 213 regions with data for 2025.
Is share of land area that is protected rising or falling in Malta?
Over the last ten years it is up 25.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Malta 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

Indicator
Share of land area that is protected
Unit
% of total land area
Source
Protected Planet WDPA and WD-OECM data, UNEP-WCMC and IUCN, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
213 places, 2,746 data points, 2013–2025
Last refreshed

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.