Share of land area that is protected in Palau
Palau: Share of land area that is protected was 31.4% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Share of land area that is protected in Palau, 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
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.
Share of land area that is protected in Palau, year by year
| Year | % of total land area | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 16.0% | — |
| 2014 | 24.9% | +55.6% |
| 2015 | 24.9% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 28.0% | +12.4% |
| 2017 | 28.0% | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 28.0% | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 44.2% | +57.9% |
| 2020 | 44.2% | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 44.2% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 44.2% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 44.2% | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 31.4% | -29.0% |
| 2025 | 31.4% | +0.0% |
Palau compared with similar countries
- Palau's 31.4% is above the median for high income countries, which is 21.5%, 1.5× the median. (83 countries reporting)
- Palau's 31.4% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 15.8%, 2.0× the median. (36 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 27.7% | 16.0% | 44.2% | 7 |
| 2020s | 39.9% | 31.4% | 44.2% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Palau
More reference data data for Palau
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 (AR5) - IPCC Agriculture 0 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) (AR5) - IPCC Agriculture 0 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CH4) - IPCC Agriculture 0 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - IPCC Agriculture 0 (2019)
- Consumer price index 160.77 2010 = 100 (2025)
- Free country 2 (2025)
- Civil liberties rating 1 (2025)
- Civil liberties rating, per capita 0.0001 units per person (2025)
- Civil liberties rating, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
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.
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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.