Protected area coverage of marine key biodiversity areas in Spain
Spain: Protected area coverage of marine key biodiversity areas was 86.8% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Protected area coverage of marine key biodiversity areas in Spain, 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 Spain is 86.8%, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 26 years on record.
That represents a change of up 4.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, protected area coverage of marine key biodiversity areas in Spain peaked at 86.8% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 36.5%, in 2000.
Spain ranks 26th of 190 countries on this measure, 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 Spain, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 36.5% | — |
| 2001 | 38.2% | +4.8% |
| 2002 | 39.8% | +4.2% |
| 2003 | 41.7% | +4.7% |
| 2004 | 43.0% | +3.2% |
| 2005 | 43.1% | +0.2% |
| 2006 | 54.1% | +25.7% |
| 2007 | 54.8% | +1.3% |
| 2008 | 54.8% | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 55.4% | +1.0% |
| 2010 | 56.5% | +2.0% |
| 2011 | 58.9% | +4.2% |
| 2012 | 58.9% | +0.1% |
| 2013 | 58.9% | +0.1% |
| 2014 | 82.0% | +39.1% |
| 2015 | 82.7% | +0.9% |
| 2016 | 83.0% | +0.3% |
| 2017 | 83.2% | +0.3% |
| 2018 | 83.2% | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 83.3% | +0.2% |
| 2020 | 83.4% | +0.2% |
| 2021 | 83.5% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 86.7% | +3.9% |
| 2023 | 86.8% | +0.1% |
| 2024 | 86.8% | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 86.8% | +0.0% |
Spain compared with similar countries
- Spain's 86.8% is above the median for high income countries, which is 49.1%, 1.8× the median. (74 countries reporting)
- Spain's 86.8% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 78.5%, 1.1× the median. (34 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Protected area coverage of marine key biodiversity areas in Spain 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | +39.1% | 58.9% | 82.0% |
| 2006 | +25.7% | 43.1% | 54.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 46.2% | 36.5% | 55.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 73.1% | 56.5% | 83.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 85.7% | 83.4% | 86.8% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Spain
- 23 Denmark 88.9% compare
- 24 Romania 88.6% compare
- 25 Greece 88.2% compare
- 27 French Southern Territories 86.4% compare
- 28 United Kingdom 85.4% compare
- 29 Guadeloupe 85.3% compare
More environment data for Spain
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -1.67 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -1.4 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.402 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 2.3 °C (2025)
- Wood-based panels — Production, annual growth rate 10.36 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual -0.4277 % 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 -0.5136 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is protected area coverage of marine key biodiversity areas in Spain?
- Protected area coverage of marine key biodiversity areas in Spain was 86.8% 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 Spain?
- The highest recorded value was 86.8% in 2023.
- What is the lowest protected area coverage of marine key biodiversity areas recorded in Spain?
- The lowest recorded value was 36.5% in 2000.
- How does Spain rank for protected area coverage of marine key biodiversity areas?
- Spain ranks 26th out of 190 countries with data for 2025.
- Is protected area coverage of marine key biodiversity areas rising or falling in Spain?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Spain 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 (%).