Share of land area that is protected in Sweden

Sweden: Share of land area that is protected was 15.8% in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
15.8%
Change on year
up 1.9%
World rank
119th
of 213 countries
All-time high
15.8%
in 2025
All-time low
14.4%
in 2019
Years of data
13
2013–2025

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

0510152013201920252013: 14.6 % of total land area2014: 14.8 % of total land area2015: 14.9 % of total land area2016: 14.5 % of total land area2017: 14.9 % of total land area2018: 14.9 % of total land area2019: 14.4 % of total land area2020: 14.5 % of total land area2021: 14.5 % of total land area2022: 15.4 % of total land area2023: 15.4 % of total land area2024: 15.5 % of total land area2025: 15.8 % 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

Sweden recorded 15.8% for share of land area that is protected in 2025. That is the highest value across all 13 years on record.

That represents a change of up 1.9% on the previous year and up 6.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of land area that is protected in Sweden peaked at 15.8% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 14.4%, in 2019.

That places Sweden 119th out of 213 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.

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

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2010s 14.7% 14.4% 14.9% 7
2020s 15.2% 14.5% 15.8% 6

Countries ranked near Sweden

  1. 118 Philippines 16.0% compare
  2. 120 China 15.6% compare
  3. 120 Cuba 15.6% compare
  4. 120 Qatar 15.6% compare

See the full ranking of 213 places →

More reference data data for Sweden

All data for Sweden →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of land area that is protected in Sweden?
Share of land area that is protected in Sweden was 15.8% 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 Sweden?
The highest recorded value was 15.8% in 2025.
What is the lowest share of land area that is protected recorded in Sweden?
The lowest recorded value was 14.4% in 2019.
How does Sweden rank for share of land area that is protected?
Sweden ranks 119th out of 213 countries with data for 2025.
Is share of land area that is protected rising or falling in Sweden?
Over the last ten years it is up 6.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Sweden 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.