Share of forest area within protected areas in Australia
Australia: Share of forest area within protected areas was 18.1% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Share of forest area within protected areas in Australia, 1990–2025
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of forest area within protected areas in Australia is 18.1%, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 10 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of forest area within protected areas in Australia peaked at 18.1% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 11.0%, in 1990.
That places Australia 100th out of 197 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 10 years of available data.
Share of forest area within protected areas in Australia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 11.0% | — |
| 2000 | 13.4% | +21.8% |
| 2010 | 17.0% | +26.7% |
| 2015 | 17.9% | +5.6% |
| 2016 | 18.1% | +0.9% |
| 2017 | 18.1% | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 18.1% | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 18.1% | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 18.1% | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 18.1% | +0.0% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 18.1% is above the median for high income countries, which is 16.0%, 1.1× the median. (69 countries reporting)
- Australia's 18.1% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 16.2%, 1.1× the median. (25 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 11.0% | 11.0% | 11.0% | 1 |
| 2000s | 13.4% | 13.4% | 13.4% | 1 |
| 2010s | 17.9% | 17.0% | 18.1% | 6 |
| 2020s | 18.1% | 18.1% | 18.1% | 2 |
Countries ranked near Australia
More environment data for Australia
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -4.75 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -5.98 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.345 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.4 °C (2025)
- Wood-based panels — Production, annual growth rate -1.03 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.6708 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), annual growth rate 0.0861 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of forest area within protected areas in Australia?
- Share of forest area within protected areas in Australia was 18.1% in 2025, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of forest area within protected areas recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 18.1% in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of forest area within protected areas recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 11.0% in 1990.
- How does Australia rank for share of forest area within protected areas?
- Australia ranks 100th out of 197 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of forest area within protected areas rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of forest area within protected areas. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 10 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Proportion of forest area within legally established protected areas (%).