Share of land area that is protected in Netherlands

Netherlands: Share of land area that is protected was 22.9% in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
22.9%
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
66th
of 213 countries
All-time high
22.9%
in 2024
All-time low
11.2%
in 2017
Years of data
13
2013–2025

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

05101520252013201920252013: 17.6 % of total land area2014: 11.4 % of total land area2015: 11.3 % of total land area2016: 11.3 % of total land area2017: 11.2 % of total land area2018: 11.2 % of total land area2019: 22.5 % of total land area2020: 22.5 % of total land area2021: 22.5 % of total land area2022: 22.5 % of total land area2023: 22.5 % of total land area2024: 22.9 % of total land area2025: 22.9 % 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 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.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2010s 13.8% 11.2% 22.5% 7
2020s 22.6% 22.5% 22.9% 6

Countries ranked near Netherlands

  1. 63 Malawi 23.1% compare
  2. 64 Honduras 23.0% compare
  3. 64 Portugal 23.0% compare
  4. 66 Cote d'Ivoire 22.9% compare
  5. 66 Kiribati 22.9% compare
  6. 69 Georgia 22.8% compare

See the full ranking of 213 places →

More reference data data for Netherlands

All data for Netherlands →

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

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.