Share of land area that is protected in South Sudan

South Sudan: Share of land area that is protected was 15.4% in 2025. ▼ Falling

Latest (2025)
15.4%
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
123rd
of 213 countries
All-time high
20.0%
in 2013
All-time low
15.4%
in 2024
Years of data
13
2013–2025

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

051015202013201920252013: 20 % of total land area2014: 15.5 % of total land area2015: 15.5 % of total land area2016: 15.5 % of total land area2017: 15.5 % of total land area2018: 15.5 % of total land area2019: 15.5 % of total land area2020: 15.5 % of total land area2021: 15.5 % of total land area2022: 15.5 % of total land area2023: 15.5 % of total land area2024: 15.4 % of total land area2025: 15.4 % 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

South Sudan recorded 15.4% for share of land area that is protected in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 13 years on record.

That represents a change of down 0.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of land area that is protected in South Sudan peaked at 20.0% in 2013 and was at its lowest, 15.4%, in 2024.

That places South Sudan 123rd out of 213 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 13 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2010s 16.1% 15.5% 20.0% 7
2020s 15.5% 15.4% 15.5% 6

Countries ranked near South Sudan

  1. 120 China 15.6% compare
  2. 120 Cuba 15.6% compare
  3. 120 Qatar 15.6% compare
  4. 124 Ghana 15.3% compare
  5. 124 Mexico 15.3% compare
  6. 126 Democratic Republic of Congo 14.9% compare
  7. 126 Paraguay 14.9% compare

See the full ranking of 213 places →

More reference data data for South Sudan

All data for South Sudan →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of land area that is protected in South Sudan?
Share of land area that is protected in South Sudan was 15.4% 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 South Sudan?
The highest recorded value was 20.0% in 2013.
What is the lowest share of land area that is protected recorded in South Sudan?
The lowest recorded value was 15.4% in 2024.
How does South Sudan rank for share of land area that is protected?
South Sudan ranks 123rd out of 213 countries with data for 2025.
Is share of land area that is protected rising or falling in South Sudan?
Over the last ten years it is down 0.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this South Sudan 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.