Protected area coverage of marine key biodiversity areas in Italy
Italy: Protected area coverage of marine key biodiversity areas was 78.6% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Protected area coverage of marine key biodiversity areas in Italy, 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 Italy stood at 78.6%. That is the highest value across all 26 years on record.
The figure is up 8.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, protected area coverage of marine key biodiversity areas in Italy peaked at 78.6% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 42.5%, in 2000.
That places Italy 37th 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 Italy, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 42.5% | — |
| 2001 | 42.7% | +0.5% |
| 2002 | 43.0% | +0.6% |
| 2003 | 44.2% | +2.9% |
| 2004 | 47.6% | +7.6% |
| 2005 | 61.0% | +28.0% |
| 2006 | 63.8% | +4.7% |
| 2007 | 65.2% | +2.2% |
| 2008 | 65.2% | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 72.4% | +11.0% |
| 2010 | 72.4% | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 72.4% | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 72.6% | +0.2% |
| 2013 | 72.7% | +0.1% |
| 2014 | 72.7% | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 72.7% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 72.7% | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 76.1% | +4.7% |
| 2018 | 77.0% | +1.2% |
| 2019 | 77.3% | +0.4% |
| 2020 | 77.5% | +0.2% |
| 2021 | 78.0% | +0.7% |
| 2022 | 78.3% | +0.4% |
| 2023 | 78.6% | +0.3% |
| 2024 | 78.6% | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 78.6% | +0.0% |
Italy compared with similar countries
- Italy's 78.6% is above the median for high income countries, which is 49.1%, 1.6× the median. (74 countries reporting)
- Italy's 78.6% 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 Italy 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | +28.0% | 47.6% | 61.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 54.8% | 42.5% | 72.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 73.8% | 72.4% | 77.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 78.2% | 77.5% | 78.6% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Italy
More environment data for Italy
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 2.04 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 2.47 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.324 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 2.18 °C (2025)
- Wood-based panels — Production, annual growth rate 6.1 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual -1.94 % 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 -0.2257 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is protected area coverage of marine key biodiversity areas in Italy?
- Protected area coverage of marine key biodiversity areas in Italy was 78.6% 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 Italy?
- The highest recorded value was 78.6% in 2023.
- What is the lowest protected area coverage of marine key biodiversity areas recorded in Italy?
- The lowest recorded value was 42.5% in 2000.
- How does Italy rank for protected area coverage of marine key biodiversity areas?
- Italy ranks 37th out of 190 countries with data for 2025.
- Is protected area coverage of marine key biodiversity areas rising or falling in Italy?
- Over the last ten years it is up 8.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Italy 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 (%).