Share of land area that is protected in Uruguay
Uruguay: Share of land area that is protected was 3.1% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Share of land area that is protected in Uruguay, 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 Uruguay stood at 3.1%.
The figure is up 14.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of land area that is protected in Uruguay peaked at 3.7% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 2.7%, in 2013.
Uruguay ranks 193rd of 213 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 13 years of available data.
Share of land area that is protected in Uruguay, year by year
| Year | % of total land area | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 2.7% | — |
| 2014 | 2.7% | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 2.7% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 3.4% | +25.9% |
| 2017 | 3.4% | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 3.4% | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 3.6% | +5.9% |
| 2020 | 3.7% | +2.8% |
| 2021 | 3.7% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 3.7% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 3.7% | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 3.1% | -16.2% |
| 2025 | 3.1% | +0.0% |
Uruguay compared with similar countries
- Uruguay's 3.1% is below the median for high income countries, which is 21.5%, 14% of the median. (83 countries reporting)
- Uruguay's 3.1% is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 17.7%, 18% of the median. (42 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 3.1% | 2.7% | 3.6% | 7 |
| 2020s | 3.5% | 3.1% | 3.7% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Uruguay
- 190 Fiji 3.9% compare
- 191 Papua New Guinea 3.7% compare
- 192 Afghanistan 3.6% compare
- 194 Maldives 3.0% compare
- 195 Northern Mariana Islands 2.8% compare
- 195 Sudan 2.8% compare
More reference data data for Uruguay
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.2999 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 4.87 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 6.98 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.3685 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 6.98 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.01 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.2195 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 24.48 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 33.62 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 2.01 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of land area that is protected in Uruguay?
- Share of land area that is protected in Uruguay was 3.1% 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 Uruguay?
- The highest recorded value was 3.7% in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of land area that is protected recorded in Uruguay?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.7% in 2013.
- How does Uruguay rank for share of land area that is protected?
- Uruguay ranks 193rd out of 213 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of land area that is protected rising or falling in Uruguay?
- Over the last ten years it is up 14.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Uruguay 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.