Share of land area that is protected in Panama

Panama: 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
31.9%
in 2020
All-time low
20.9%
in 2013
Years of data
13
2013–2025

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

01020302013201920252013: 20.9 % of total land area2014: 20.9 % of total land area2015: 20.9 % of total land area2016: 20.9 % of total land area2017: 20.9 % of total land area2018: 20.9 % of total land area2019: 20.9 % of total land area2020: 31.9 % of total land area2021: 31.4 % of total land area2022: 31.4 % of total land area2023: 31.4 % 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

In 2025, share of land area that is protected in Panama stood at 31.4%.

That represents a change of up 50.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of land area that is protected in Panama peaked at 31.9% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 20.9%, in 2013.

That places Panama 32nd out of 213 countries with data for 2025, putting it 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 20.9% 20.9% 20.9% 7
2020s 31.5% 31.4% 31.9% 6

Countries ranked near Panama

  1. 29 Comoros 33.7% compare
  2. 30 New Zealand 33.4% compare
  3. 31 Sao Tome and Principe 31.7% compare
  4. 32 Palau 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 Panama

All data for Panama →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of land area that is protected in Panama?
Share of land area that is protected in Panama 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 Panama?
The highest recorded value was 31.9% in 2020.
What is the lowest share of land area that is protected recorded in Panama?
The lowest recorded value was 20.9% in 2013.
How does Panama rank for share of land area that is protected?
Panama ranks 32nd out of 213 countries with data for 2025.
Is share of land area that is protected rising or falling in Panama?
Over the last ten years it is up 50.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Panama 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.