Countries Ranked by Protected marine area share (2025)
Protected marine area share: each country's latest value (2020–2025), ranked from highest to lowest. Source: The World Bank (CC BY 4.0).
Summary
Monaco ranks #1 with 100% of territorial waters. Palau is second with 98% of territorial waters, 2% behind. The top five are Monaco, Palau, St. Martin (French part), New Caledonia and French Polynesia. The median across all 174 is 2.15% of territorial waters; Vanuatu is last at 0% of territorial waters. Monaco's figure has risen 99900% since 2013 (0.1% of territorial waters to 100% of territorial waters in 2025).
- #1
- Monaco · 100% of territorial waters
- Median
- 2.15% of territorial waters
- Coverage
- 174 countries
- Data year
- 2025
- Last updated
- 2026-11-14
Full ranking
Showing the top 100 of 174. Premium downloads the full list as CSV or JSON.
About the top 10
#1 Monaco
Monaco ranks #1 on this list with 100% of territorial waters.
- Capital
- Monaco
- Continent
- Europe
- Income group
- High income
- Population
- 38,341 people (2025)
- GDP
- US$11.13 billion (2024)
- GDP per person
- US$288,000 (2024)
- Life expectancy
- 86.5 years (2024)
- Urban population
- 100% of population (2025)
Also ranks #1 in population ages 65+ share · #1 in age dependency ratio (old) · #1 in gdp per capita.
#2 Palau
Palau ranks #2 on this list with 98% of territorial waters.
- Capital
- Ngerulmud
- Continent
- Oceania
- Income group
- High income
- Population
- 17,663 people (2025)
- GDP
- US$345 million (2025)
- GDP per person
- US$19,532 (2025)
- Life expectancy
- 69.4 years (2024)
- Urban population
- 79.3% of population (2025)
Also ranks #1 in co2 emissions per capita · #4 in forest area share · #7 in literacy rate.
#3 St. Martin (French part)
St. Martin (French part) ranks #3 on this list with 97% of territorial waters.
- Capital
- Marigot
- Continent
- North America
- Income group
- High income
- Population
- 24,941 people (2025)
- GDP
- US$649.21 million (2021)
- GDP per person
- US$21,668 (2021)
- Life expectancy
- 80.4 years (2024)
- Urban population
- 100% of population (2025)
Also ranks #4 in female population share · #8 in urban population share · #24 in population density.
#4 New Caledonia
New Caledonia ranks #4 on this list with 96.5% of territorial waters.
- Capital
- Nouméa
- Continent
- Oceania
- Income group
- High income
- Population
- 295,330 people (2025)
- GDP
- US$8.55 billion (2024)
- GDP per person
- US$29,213 (2024)
- Life expectancy
- 78.9 years (2024)
- Urban population
- 68.2% of population (2025)
Also ranks #2 in protected terrestrial area share · #4 in mineral rents share of gdp · #7 in cereal yield.
#5 French Polynesia
French Polynesia ranks #5 on this list with 87.4% of territorial waters.
- Capital
- Papeete
- Continent
- Oceania
- Income group
- High income
- Population
- 282,470 people (2025)
- GDP
- US$6.32 billion (2024)
- GDP per person
- US$22,440 (2024)
- Life expectancy
- 84.2 years (2024)
- Urban population
- 61.8% of population (2025)
Also ranks #5 in female life expectancy · #7 in life expectancy · #8 in diabetes prevalence.
#6 Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan ranks #6 on this list with 52.5% of territorial waters.
- Capital
- Astana
- Continent
- Asia
- Income group
- Upper middle income
- Population
- 20.84 million people (2025)
- GDP
- US$306.24 billion (2025)
- GDP per person
- US$14,692 (2025)
- Life expectancy
- 74.5 years (2024)
- Urban population
- 62.4% of population (2025)
Largest cities: Almaty, Shymkent, Astana.
Also ranks #2 in debt service share of exports · #4 in income share of poorest 10% · #9 in land area.
#7 France
France ranks #7 on this list with 49.2% of territorial waters.
- Capital
- Paris
- Continent
- Europe
- Income group
- High income
- Population
- 68.72 million people (2025)
- GDP
- US$3.37 trillion (2025)
- GDP per person
- US$48,986 (2025)
- Life expectancy
- 83 years (2024)
- Urban population
- 78.8% of population (2025)
Largest cities: Paris, Metropolis of Lyon, Bordeaux Métropole.
Also ranks #1 in tourism arrivals · #1 in account ownership (female) share · #3 in remittances received.
#8 United Kingdom
United Kingdom ranks #8 on this list with 46.8% of territorial waters.
- Capital
- London
- Continent
- Europe
- Income group
- High income
- Population
- 69.49 million people (2025)
- GDP
- US$4 trillion (2025)
- GDP per person
- US$57,602 (2025)
- Life expectancy
- 81.4 years (2024)
- Urban population
- 83.3% of population (2025)
Largest cities: London, Birmingham, Glasgow.
Also ranks #2 in government debt share of gdp · #2 in new businesses registered · #4 in exports of goods and services.
#9 Australia
Australia ranks #9 on this list with 45.4% of territorial waters.
- Capital
- Canberra
- Continent
- Oceania
- Income group
- High income
- Population
- 27.61 million people (2025)
- GDP
- US$1.8 trillion (2025)
- GDP per person
- US$65,130 (2025)
- Life expectancy
- 83.1 years (2024)
- Urban population
- 87.7% of population (2025)
Largest cities: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane.
Also ranks #2 in regulatory quality score · #3 in access to clean cooking fuels · #4 in new businesses registered.
#10 Germany
Germany ranks #10 on this list with 45.3% of territorial waters.
- Capital
- Berlin
- Continent
- Europe
- Income group
- High income
- Population
- 83.49 million people (2025)
- GDP
- US$5.05 trillion (2025)
- GDP per person
- US$60,496 (2025)
- Life expectancy
- 80.8 years (2024)
- Urban population
- 82.1% of population (2025)
Largest cities: Berlin, Hamburg, Munich.
Also ranks #2 in tourism receipts · #3 in gdp (current us$) · #3 in exports of goods and services.
Profile facts: World Bank (CC BY 4.0) and Wikidata (CC0); weather links go to Purr Weather, another ChowChow Labs site.
Source and method
Protected marine area share: each country's latest value (2020–2025), ranked from highest to lowest.
Source: The World Bank, indicator ER.MRN.PTMR.ZS. Licence: CC BY 4.0. Retrieved: 2026-11-14.
The World Bank: Marine protected areas (% of territorial waters): Protected Planet: The World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) and World Database on Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (WD-OECM), UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) (via World Development Indicators)
Original data provider, as recorded by the World Bank: Protected Planet: The World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) and World Database on Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (WD-OECM), UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC).
Values are shown as published. Provider terms: The World Bank. All licences: Sources & licences.