Share of land area that is protected in Nepal
Nepal: Share of land area that is protected was 23.6% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Share of land area that is protected in Nepal, 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 Nepal stood at 23.6%. That is the highest value across all 13 years on record.
The figure is up 0.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of land area that is protected in Nepal peaked at 23.6% in 2016 and was at its lowest, 17.2%, in 2013.
Nepal ranks 60th 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.
Share of land area that is protected in Nepal, year by year
| Year | % of total land area | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 17.2% | — |
| 2014 | 23.5% | +36.6% |
| 2015 | 23.4% | -0.4% |
| 2016 | 23.6% | +0.9% |
| 2017 | 23.6% | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 23.6% | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 23.6% | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 23.6% | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 23.6% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 23.6% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 23.6% | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 23.6% | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 23.6% | +0.0% |
Nepal compared with similar countries
- Nepal's 23.6% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 18.8%, 1.3× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Nepal's 23.6% is above the median for South Asia, which is 15.7%, 1.5× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 22.6% | 17.2% | 23.6% | 7 |
| 2020s | 23.6% | 23.6% | 23.6% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Nepal
More reference data data for Nepal
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.7753 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 2.5 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 4.14 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.7853 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 4.14 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 2.6 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.7974 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 11.28 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 19.44 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 4.28 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of land area that is protected in Nepal?
- Share of land area that is protected in Nepal was 23.6% 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 Nepal?
- The highest recorded value was 23.6% in 2016.
- What is the lowest share of land area that is protected recorded in Nepal?
- The lowest recorded value was 17.2% in 2013.
- How does Nepal rank for share of land area that is protected?
- Nepal ranks 60th out of 213 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of land area that is protected rising or falling in Nepal?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Nepal 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.