Protected area coverage of marine key biodiversity areas in France
France: Protected area coverage of marine key biodiversity areas was 80.9% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Protected area coverage of marine key biodiversity areas in France, 2000–2025
Source: BirdLife International, IUCN and UNEP-WCMC – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for protected area coverage of marine key biodiversity areas in France is 80.9%, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 26 years on record.
The figure is up 13.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, protected area coverage of marine key biodiversity areas in France peaked at 80.9% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 19.9%, in 2000.
That places France 35th out of 190 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 26 years of available data.
Protected area coverage of marine key biodiversity areas in France, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 19.9% | — |
| 2001 | 27.3% | +37.1% |
| 2002 | 27.4% | +0.6% |
| 2003 | 29.3% | +6.7% |
| 2004 | 29.3% | +0.2% |
| 2005 | 35.7% | +21.7% |
| 2006 | 37.8% | +6.0% |
| 2007 | 43.1% | +13.9% |
| 2008 | 45.6% | +6.0% |
| 2009 | 49.5% | +8.6% |
| 2010 | 49.8% | +0.5% |
| 2011 | 50.5% | +1.5% |
| 2012 | 57.2% | +13.3% |
| 2013 | 58.0% | +1.3% |
| 2014 | 67.9% | +17.1% |
| 2015 | 71.3% | +5.0% |
| 2016 | 73.2% | +2.7% |
| 2017 | 73.7% | +0.6% |
| 2018 | 75.2% | +2.1% |
| 2019 | 79.0% | +5.0% |
| 2020 | 80.3% | +1.7% |
| 2021 | 80.5% | +0.2% |
| 2022 | 80.9% | +0.5% |
| 2023 | 80.9% | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 80.9% | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 80.9% | +0.0% |
France compared with similar countries
- France's 80.9% is above the median for high income countries, which is 49.1%, 1.6× the median. (74 countries reporting)
- France's 80.9% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 78.5%, 1.0× the median. (34 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Protected area coverage of marine key biodiversity areas in France changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | +37.1% | 19.9% | 27.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 34.5% | 19.9% | 49.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 65.6% | 49.8% | 79.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 80.7% | 80.3% | 80.9% | 6 |
Countries ranked near France
More environment data for France
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -2.44 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -3.44 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.427 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 2.31 °C (2025)
- Wood-based panels — Production, annual growth rate -3.66 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual -3.23 % 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 -0.1777 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is protected area coverage of marine key biodiversity areas in France?
- Protected area coverage of marine key biodiversity areas in France was 80.9% 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 France?
- The highest recorded value was 80.9% in 2024.
- What is the lowest protected area coverage of marine key biodiversity areas recorded in France?
- The lowest recorded value was 19.9% in 2000.
- How does France rank for protected area coverage of marine key biodiversity areas?
- France ranks 35th out of 190 countries with data for 2025.
- Is protected area coverage of marine key biodiversity areas rising or falling in France?
- Over the last ten years it is up 13.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this France 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 (%).