Share of land area that is protected in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Share of land area that is protected was 30.8% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Share of land area that is protected in Sri Lanka, 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
In 2025, share of land area that is protected in Sri Lanka stood at 30.8%. That is the highest value across all 13 years on record.
The figure is up 2.7% on the previous year and up 3.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of land area that is protected in Sri Lanka peaked at 30.8% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 22.0%, in 2013.
That places Sri Lanka 35th 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.
Share of land area that is protected in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | % of total land area | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 22.0% | — |
| 2014 | 23.2% | +5.5% |
| 2015 | 29.9% | +28.9% |
| 2016 | 29.9% | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 29.9% | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 29.9% | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 29.9% | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 29.9% | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 29.9% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 29.9% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 29.9% | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 30.0% | +0.3% |
| 2025 | 30.8% | +2.7% |
Sri Lanka compared with similar countries
- Sri Lanka's 30.8% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 15.6%, 2.0× the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Sri Lanka's 30.8% is above the median for South Asia, which is 15.7%, 2.0× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 27.8% | 22.0% | 29.9% | 7 |
| 2020s | 30.1% | 29.9% | 30.8% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
More reference data data for Sri Lanka
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.1608 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.316 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 2.33 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.1784 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 2.33 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.539 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.1604 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.63 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 10.15 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.9713 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of land area that is protected in Sri Lanka?
- Share of land area that is protected in Sri Lanka was 30.8% 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 Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 30.8% in 2025.
- What is the lowest share of land area that is protected recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 22.0% in 2013.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for share of land area that is protected?
- Sri Lanka ranks 35th out of 213 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of land area that is protected rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is up 3.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sri Lanka 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.