Madagascar vs New Zealand: Forest area
Madagascar
9.92 million hectares
in 2025
New Zealand
10.30 million hectares
in 2025
Madagascar rank
54th
New Zealand rank
52nd
Forest area over time
- Madagascar
- New Zealand
How they compare
New Zealand currently reports 10.30 million hectares against 9.92 million hectares in Madagascar, a difference of 380,920 hectares.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 36 shared years of data; in 1990 it was Madagascar ahead.
Madagascar ranks 54th and New Zealand ranks 52nd of 235 countries.
Madagascar has averaged higher in every one of the 4 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Madagascar | New Zealand | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 13.38 million hectares | 9.59 million hectares | 3.79 million hectares | Madagascar |
| 2000s | 12.53 million hectares | 9.85 million hectares | 2.68 million hectares | Madagascar |
| 2010s | 11.27 million hectares | 9.87 million hectares | 1.39 million hectares | Madagascar |
| 2020s | 10.23 million hectares | 10.13 million hectares | 98,632 hectares | Madagascar |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher forest area, Madagascar or New Zealand?
- New Zealand, at 10.30 million hectares against 9.92 million hectares in Madagascar as of 2025.
- What is the difference in forest area between Madagascar and New Zealand?
- 380,920 hectares, with New Zealand ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Madagascar and New Zealand?
- 36 years are reported by both, from 1990 to 2025.
- How do Madagascar and New Zealand rank globally for forest area?
- Madagascar ranks 54th and New Zealand ranks 52nd of 235 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Forest area. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Forest area is land under natural or planted stands of trees of at least 5 meters in situ, whether productive or not, and excludes tree stands in agricultural production systems.