Protected area coverage of marine key biodiversity areas in Tonga
Tonga: Protected area coverage of marine key biodiversity areas was 17.6% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Protected area coverage of marine key biodiversity areas in Tonga, 2000–2025
Source: BirdLife International, IUCN and UNEP-WCMC – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Tonga recorded 17.6% 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 unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, protected area coverage of marine key biodiversity areas in Tonga peaked at 17.6% in 2001 and was at its lowest, 4.9%, in 2000.
That places Tonga 146th out of 190 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom 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 Tonga, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 4.9% | — |
| 2001 | 17.6% | +257.1% |
| 2002 | 17.6% | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 17.6% | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 17.6% | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 17.6% | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 17.6% | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 17.6% | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 17.6% | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 17.6% | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 17.6% | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 17.6% | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 17.6% | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 17.6% | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 17.6% | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 17.6% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 17.6% | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 17.6% | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 17.6% | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 17.6% | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 17.6% | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 17.6% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 17.6% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 17.6% | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 17.6% | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 17.6% | +0.0% |
Tonga compared with similar countries
- Tonga's 17.6% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 43.8%, 40% of the median. (44 countries reporting)
- Tonga's 17.6% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 22.1%, 80% of the median. (34 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 16.3% | 4.9% | 17.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 17.6% | 17.6% | 17.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 17.6% | 17.6% | 17.6% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Tonga
- 143 Malaysia 19.7% compare
- 144 East Timor 19.6% compare
- 145 Falkland Islands 18.3% compare
- 147 Faroe Islands 16.7% compare
- 148 Fiji 16.6% compare
- 149 Iceland 16.1% compare
More environment data for Tonga
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.234 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 0.858 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 3.06 % 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 0.1689 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) (Mt CO2e), annual 0 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is protected area coverage of marine key biodiversity areas in Tonga?
- Protected area coverage of marine key biodiversity areas in Tonga was 17.6% 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 Tonga?
- The highest recorded value was 17.6% in 2001.
- What is the lowest protected area coverage of marine key biodiversity areas recorded in Tonga?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.9% in 2000.
- How does Tonga rank for protected area coverage of marine key biodiversity areas?
- Tonga ranks 146th out of 190 countries with data for 2025.
- Is protected area coverage of marine key biodiversity areas rising or falling in Tonga?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Tonga 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 (%).