Protected area coverage of marine key biodiversity areas in United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates: Protected area coverage of marine key biodiversity areas was 48.3% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Protected area coverage of marine key biodiversity areas in United Arab Emirates, 2000–2025
Source: BirdLife International, IUCN and UNEP-WCMC – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
United Arab Emirates recorded 48.3% 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 8.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, protected area coverage of marine key biodiversity areas in United Arab Emirates peaked at 48.3% in 2018 and was at its lowest, 11.1%, in 2000.
That places United Arab Emirates 92nd out of 190 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 26 years of available data.
Protected area coverage of marine key biodiversity areas in United Arab Emirates, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 11.1% | — |
| 2001 | 22.2% | +100.2% |
| 2002 | 22.2% | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 22.2% | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 22.2% | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 33.3% | +50.0% |
| 2006 | 33.3% | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 33.3% | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 33.3% | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 33.3% | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 33.3% | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 33.3% | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 43.9% | +31.8% |
| 2013 | 44.4% | +1.2% |
| 2014 | 44.4% | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 44.4% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 44.4% | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 44.4% | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 48.3% | +8.7% |
| 2019 | 48.3% | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 48.3% | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 48.3% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 48.3% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 48.3% | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 48.3% | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 48.3% | +0.0% |
United Arab Emirates compared with similar countries
- United Arab Emirates's 48.3% is below the median for high income countries, which is 49.1%, 98% of the median. (74 countries reporting)
- United Arab Emirates's 48.3% is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 36.4%, 1.3× the median. (20 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 26.6% | 11.1% | 33.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 42.9% | 33.3% | 48.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 48.3% | 48.3% | 48.3% | 6 |
Countries ranked near United Arab Emirates
More environment data for United Arab Emirates
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -80.98 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -85.4 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.331 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.5 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 3.87 % 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 1.89 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is protected area coverage of marine key biodiversity areas in United Arab Emirates?
- Protected area coverage of marine key biodiversity areas in United Arab Emirates was 48.3% 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 United Arab Emirates?
- The highest recorded value was 48.3% in 2018.
- What is the lowest protected area coverage of marine key biodiversity areas recorded in United Arab Emirates?
- The lowest recorded value was 11.1% in 2000.
- How does United Arab Emirates rank for protected area coverage of marine key biodiversity areas?
- United Arab Emirates ranks 92nd out of 190 countries with data for 2025.
- Is protected area coverage of marine key biodiversity areas rising or falling in United Arab Emirates?
- Over the last ten years it is up 8.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United Arab Emirates 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 (%).