Share of freshwater Key Biodiversity Areas that are protected in Australia
Australia: Share of freshwater Key Biodiversity Areas that are protected was 37.8% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Share of freshwater Key Biodiversity Areas that are protected in Australia, 2000–2025
Source: BirdLife International, IUCN and UNEP-WCMC – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2025, share of freshwater key biodiversity areas that are protected in Australia stood at 37.8%. That is the highest value across all 26 years on record.
The figure is up 9.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of freshwater key biodiversity areas that are protected in Australia peaked at 37.8% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 23.0%, in 2000.
That places Australia 107th out of 164 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 26 years of available data.
Share of freshwater Key Biodiversity Areas that are protected in Australia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 23.0% | — |
| 2001 | 23.0% | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 26.0% | +13.2% |
| 2003 | 26.3% | +1.0% |
| 2004 | 26.5% | +0.8% |
| 2005 | 26.6% | +0.1% |
| 2006 | 26.6% | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 28.9% | +8.9% |
| 2008 | 29.0% | +0.2% |
| 2009 | 30.3% | +4.6% |
| 2010 | 30.3% | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 30.6% | +0.8% |
| 2012 | 31.4% | +2.8% |
| 2013 | 32.9% | +4.8% |
| 2014 | 34.6% | +5.1% |
| 2015 | 34.6% | +0.1% |
| 2016 | 34.9% | +0.8% |
| 2017 | 35.3% | +1.0% |
| 2018 | 37.0% | +5.0% |
| 2019 | 37.3% | +0.7% |
| 2020 | 37.3% | +0.1% |
| 2021 | 37.8% | +1.3% |
| 2022 | 37.8% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 37.8% | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 37.8% | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 37.8% | +0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 26.6% | 23.0% | 30.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 33.9% | 30.3% | 37.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 37.7% | 37.3% | 37.8% | 6 |
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)
- Paper and paperboard — Import quantity, annual growth rate 14.7 % change on previous year (2024)
- Paper and paperboard — Import quantity, per unit of GDP 0 t per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Paper and paperboard — Import quantity, per capita 0.0326 t per person (2024)
- Paper and paperboard — Import value, annual growth rate -4.05 % change on previous year (2024)
- Paper and paperboard — Import value, per unit of GDP 0 1000 USD per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of freshwater key biodiversity areas that are protected in Australia?
- Share of freshwater key biodiversity areas that are protected in Australia was 37.8% in 2025, according to BirdLife International, IUCN and UNEP-WCMC – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of freshwater key biodiversity areas that are protected recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 37.8% in 2022.
- What is the lowest share of freshwater key biodiversity areas that are protected recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 23.0% in 2000.
- How does Australia rank for share of freshwater key biodiversity areas that are protected?
- Australia ranks 107th out of 164 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of freshwater key biodiversity areas that are protected rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 9.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from BirdLife International, IUCN and UNEP-WCMC – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of freshwater Key Biodiversity Areas that are protected. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 26 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Average proportion of Freshwater Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) covered by protected areas (%).