Share of land area that is protected in Norway
Norway: Share of land area that is protected was 17.8% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Share of land area that is protected in Norway, 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
Norway recorded 17.8% for share of land area that is protected in 2025.
The figure is up 5.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of land area that is protected in Norway peaked at 30.5% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 16.8%, in 2013.
Norway ranks 101st 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 Norway, year by year
| Year | % of total land area | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 16.8% | — |
| 2014 | 16.9% | +0.6% |
| 2015 | 16.9% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 17.0% | +0.6% |
| 2017 | 17.1% | +0.6% |
| 2018 | 17.1% | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 16.8% | -1.8% |
| 2020 | 17.6% | +4.8% |
| 2021 | 29.9% | +69.9% |
| 2022 | 30.5% | +2.0% |
| 2023 | 17.7% | -42.0% |
| 2024 | 17.8% | +0.6% |
| 2025 | 17.8% | +0.0% |
Norway compared with similar countries
- Norway's 17.8% is below the median for high income countries, which is 21.5%, 83% of the median. (83 countries reporting)
- Norway's 17.8% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 22.1%, 81% of the median. (55 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of land area that is protected in Norway changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | +69.9% | 17.6% | 29.9% |
| 2023 | -42.0% | 30.5% | 17.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 16.9% | 16.8% | 17.1% | 7 |
| 2020s | 21.9% | 17.6% | 30.5% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Norway
- 98 Thailand 18.4% compare
- 99 Saint Lucia 18.2% compare
- 100 Lithuania 18.0% compare
- 102 South Korea 17.7% compare
- 103 Cape Verde 17.6% compare
- 104 Colombia 17.2% compare
More reference data data for Norway
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.3703 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.3621 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 1.55 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0618 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 1.55 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.24 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.7734 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.48 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 6.9 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.3366 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of land area that is protected in Norway?
- Share of land area that is protected in Norway was 17.8% 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 Norway?
- The highest recorded value was 30.5% in 2022.
- What is the lowest share of land area that is protected recorded in Norway?
- The lowest recorded value was 16.8% in 2013.
- How does Norway rank for share of land area that is protected?
- Norway ranks 101st out of 213 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of land area that is protected rising or falling in Norway?
- Over the last ten years it is up 5.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Norway 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.