Protected area coverage of marine key biodiversity areas in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Protected area coverage of marine key biodiversity areas was 50.9% in 2025. ▬ Flat
Protected area coverage of marine key biodiversity areas in Costa Rica, 2000–2025
Source: BirdLife International, IUCN and UNEP-WCMC – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Costa Rica recorded 50.9% for protected area coverage of marine key biodiversity areas in 2025. That is the highest value across all 26 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, protected area coverage of marine key biodiversity areas in Costa Rica peaked at 50.9% in 2018 and was at its lowest, 48.5%, in 2000.
That places Costa Rica 85th out of 190 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
Protected area coverage of marine key biodiversity areas in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 48.5% | — |
| 2001 | 49.4% | +1.9% |
| 2002 | 49.4% | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 49.4% | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 49.6% | +0.4% |
| 2005 | 49.6% | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 49.6% | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 49.6% | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 49.6% | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 49.6% | +0.1% |
| 2010 | 50.9% | +2.5% |
| 2011 | 50.9% | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 50.9% | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 50.9% | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 50.9% | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 50.9% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 50.9% | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 50.9% | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 50.9% | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 50.9% | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 50.9% | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 50.9% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 50.9% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 50.9% | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 50.9% | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 50.9% | +0.0% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's 50.9% is above the median for high income countries, which is 49.1%, 1.0× the median. (74 countries reporting)
- Costa Rica's 50.9% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 40.3%, 1.3× the median. (39 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 49.4% | 48.5% | 49.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 50.9% | 50.9% | 50.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 50.9% | 50.9% | 50.9% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
More environment data for Costa Rica
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 2.9 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 2.71 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.257 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.61 °C (2025)
- Wood-based panels — Production, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 2.09 % 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 -0.3048 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is protected area coverage of marine key biodiversity areas in Costa Rica?
- Protected area coverage of marine key biodiversity areas in Costa Rica was 50.9% 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 Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 50.9% in 2018.
- What is the lowest protected area coverage of marine key biodiversity areas recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 48.5% in 2000.
- How does Costa Rica rank for protected area coverage of marine key biodiversity areas?
- Costa Rica ranks 85th out of 190 countries with data for 2025.
- Is protected area coverage of marine key biodiversity areas rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this Costa Rica 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 (%).