Share of land area that is protected in Palau

Palau: Share of land area that is protected was 31.4% in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
31.4%
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
32nd
of 213 countries
All-time high
44.2%
in 2019
All-time low
16.0%
in 2013
Years of data
13
2013–2025

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

0102030402013201920252013: 16 % of total land area2014: 24.9 % of total land area2015: 24.9 % of total land area2016: 28 % of total land area2017: 28 % of total land area2018: 28 % of total land area2019: 44.2 % of total land area2020: 44.2 % of total land area2021: 44.2 % of total land area2022: 44.2 % of total land area2023: 44.2 % of total land area2024: 31.4 % of total land area2025: 31.4 % 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

Palau recorded 31.4% for share of land area that is protected in 2025.

That represents a change of up 26.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of land area that is protected in Palau peaked at 44.2% in 2019 and was at its lowest, 16.0%, in 2013.

Palau ranks 32nd of 213 countries on this measure, 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 27.7% 16.0% 44.2% 7
2020s 39.9% 31.4% 44.2% 6

Countries ranked near Palau

  1. 29 Comoros 33.7% compare
  2. 30 New Zealand 33.4% compare
  3. 31 Sao Tome and Principe 31.7% compare
  4. 32 Panama 31.4% compare
  5. 34 Bolivia 30.9% compare
  6. 35 Sri Lanka 30.8% compare

See the full ranking of 213 places →

More reference data data for Palau

All data for Palau →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of land area that is protected in Palau?
Share of land area that is protected in Palau was 31.4% 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 Palau?
The highest recorded value was 44.2% in 2019.
What is the lowest share of land area that is protected recorded in Palau?
The lowest recorded value was 16.0% in 2013.
How does Palau rank for share of land area that is protected?
Palau ranks 32nd out of 213 countries with data for 2025.
Is share of land area that is protected rising or falling in Palau?
Over the last ten years it is up 26.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Palau 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.