Protected area coverage of marine key biodiversity areas in Australia
Australia: Protected area coverage of marine key biodiversity areas was 66.2% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Protected area coverage of marine key biodiversity areas in Australia, 2000–2025
Source: BirdLife International, IUCN and UNEP-WCMC – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2025, protected area coverage of marine key biodiversity areas in Australia stood at 66.2%. That is the highest value across all 26 years on record.
The figure is up 7.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, protected area coverage of marine key biodiversity areas in Australia peaked at 66.2% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 42.4%, in 2000.
Australia ranks 58th of 190 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 26 years of available data.
Protected area coverage of marine key biodiversity areas in Australia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 42.4% | — |
| 2001 | 43.2% | +1.9% |
| 2002 | 44.6% | +3.3% |
| 2003 | 44.9% | +0.7% |
| 2004 | 45.2% | +0.6% |
| 2005 | 45.7% | +1.2% |
| 2006 | 46.8% | +2.5% |
| 2007 | 48.2% | +2.9% |
| 2008 | 48.6% | +0.7% |
| 2009 | 53.0% | +9.1% |
| 2010 | 53.4% | +0.8% |
| 2011 | 56.1% | +5.2% |
| 2012 | 58.4% | +4.1% |
| 2013 | 61.1% | +4.6% |
| 2014 | 61.2% | +0.2% |
| 2015 | 61.5% | +0.3% |
| 2016 | 63.2% | +2.9% |
| 2017 | 63.6% | +0.7% |
| 2018 | 63.8% | +0.3% |
| 2019 | 64.6% | +1.2% |
| 2020 | 64.7% | +0.3% |
| 2021 | 65.5% | +1.1% |
| 2022 | 66.2% | +1.1% |
| 2023 | 66.2% | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 66.2% | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 66.2% | +0.0% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 66.2% is above the median for high income countries, which is 49.1%, 1.3× the median. (74 countries reporting)
- Australia's 66.2% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 22.1%, 3.0× the median. (34 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 46.2% | 42.4% | 53.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 60.7% | 53.4% | 64.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 65.8% | 64.7% | 66.2% | 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)
- 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 protected area coverage of marine key biodiversity areas in Australia?
- Protected area coverage of marine key biodiversity areas in Australia was 66.2% in 2025, according to BirdLife International, IUCN and UNEP-WCMC – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest protected area coverage of marine key biodiversity areas recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 66.2% in 2022.
- What is the lowest protected area coverage of marine key biodiversity areas recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 42.4% in 2000.
- How does Australia rank for protected area coverage of marine key biodiversity areas?
- Australia ranks 58th out of 190 countries with data for 2025.
- Is protected area coverage of marine key biodiversity areas rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 7.7%. 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 Protected area coverage of marine key biodiversity areas. 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 Marine Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) covered by protected areas (%).