Share of land area that is protected in Netherlands
Netherlands: Share of land area that is protected was 22.9% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Share of land area that is protected in Netherlands, 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 Netherlands stood at 22.9%. That is the highest value across all 13 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 102.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of land area that is protected in Netherlands peaked at 22.9% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 11.2%, in 2017.
Netherlands ranks 66th 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 Netherlands, year by year
| Year | % of total land area | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 17.6% | — |
| 2014 | 11.4% | -35.2% |
| 2015 | 11.3% | -0.9% |
| 2016 | 11.3% | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 11.2% | -0.9% |
| 2018 | 11.2% | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 22.5% | +100.9% |
| 2020 | 22.5% | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 22.5% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 22.5% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 22.5% | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 22.9% | +1.8% |
| 2025 | 22.9% | +0.0% |
Netherlands compared with similar countries
- Netherlands's 22.9% is above the median for high income countries, which is 21.5%, 1.1× the median. (83 countries reporting)
- Netherlands's 22.9% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 22.1%, 1.0× the median. (55 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 13.8% | 11.2% | 22.5% | 7 |
| 2020s | 22.6% | 22.5% | 22.9% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Netherlands
More reference data data for Netherlands
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.74 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.5851 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 3.79 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.1102 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 3.79 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 5.83 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 3.59 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 2.93 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 18.47 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.6002 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of land area that is protected in Netherlands?
- Share of land area that is protected in Netherlands was 22.9% 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 Netherlands?
- The highest recorded value was 22.9% in 2024.
- What is the lowest share of land area that is protected recorded in Netherlands?
- The lowest recorded value was 11.2% in 2017.
- How does Netherlands rank for share of land area that is protected?
- Netherlands ranks 66th out of 213 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of land area that is protected rising or falling in Netherlands?
- Over the last ten years it is up 102.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Netherlands 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.