Marine protected areas in Belize
Belize: Marine protected areas was 20.4% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Marine protected areas in Belize, 2013–2025
Source: 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 . Measured in % of territorial waters.
Analysis
The most recent figure for marine protected areas in Belize is 20.4%, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 13 years on record.
The figure is up 102.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, marine protected areas in Belize peaked at 20.4% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 6.9%, in 2013.
Belize ranks 29th of 174 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 13 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 9.6% | 6.9% | 10.1% | 7 |
| 2020s | 14.1% | 11.0% | 20.4% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Belize
More climate change data for Belize
- Population growth 1.4% (2025)
- Population, total 422,924 (2025)
- Urban population growth 0.9% (2025)
- Urban population 175,776 (2025)
- Urban population 41.6% (2025)
- Annual freshwater withdrawals, total 0.101 billion cubic meters (2022)
- Annual freshwater withdrawals, total 0.7% (2022)
- Terrestrial protected areas 37.3% (2025)
- Terrestrial and marine protected areas 26.8% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is marine protected areas in Belize?
- Marine protected areas in Belize was 20.4% in 2025, according to 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 .
- What is the highest marine protected areas recorded in Belize?
- The highest recorded value was 20.4% in 2024.
- What is the lowest marine protected areas recorded in Belize?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.9% in 2013.
- How does Belize rank for marine protected areas?
- Belize ranks 29th out of 174 countries with data for 2025.
- Is marine protected areas rising or falling in Belize?
- Over the last ten years it is up 102.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Belize data come from?
- The figures come from 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 , published as part of Marine protected areas (% of territorial waters). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 13 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Marine protected areas are areas of intertidal or subtidal terrain--and overlying water and associated flora and fauna and historical and cultural features--that have been reserved by law or other effective means to protect part or all of the enclosed environment.