Agricultural land — Area in New Zealand
New Zealand: Agricultural land — Area was 9,693 1000 ha in 2024. ▼ Falling
Agricultural land — Area in New Zealand, 1961–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in 1000 ha.
Analysis
New Zealand recorded 9,693 1000 ha for agricultural land — area in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 64 years on record.
The figure is down 0.2% on the previous year and down 12.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, agricultural land — area in New Zealand peaked at 15,188 1000 ha in 1981 and was at its lowest, 9,693 1000 ha, in 2024.
That places New Zealand 86th out of 255 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 64 years of available data.
Agricultural land — Area in New Zealand, year by year
| Year | 1000 ha | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 13,163 1000 ha | — |
| 1962 | 13,248 1000 ha | +0.6% |
| 1963 | 13,288 1000 ha | +0.3% |
| 1964 | 13,316 1000 ha | +0.2% |
| 1965 | 13,252 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 1966 | 13,233 1000 ha | -0.1% |
| 1967 | 13,247 1000 ha | +0.1% |
| 1968 | 13,248 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 13,091 1000 ha | -1.2% |
| 1970 | 13,088 1000 ha | -0.0% |
| 1971 | 13,086 1000 ha | -0.0% |
| 1972 | 13,486 1000 ha | +3.1% |
| 1973 | 13,482 1000 ha | -0.0% |
| 1974 | 13,478 1000 ha | -0.0% |
| 1975 | 13,944 1000 ha | +3.5% |
| 1976 | 14,354 1000 ha | +2.9% |
| 1977 | 14,276 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 1978 | 14,498 1000 ha | +1.6% |
| 1979 | 14,443 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 1980 | 14,591 1000 ha | +1.0% |
| 1981 | 15,188 1000 ha | +4.1% |
| 1982 | 14,620 1000 ha | -3.7% |
| 1983 | 14,592 1000 ha | -0.2% |
| 1984 | 14,473 1000 ha | -0.8% |
| 1985 | 14,393 1000 ha | -0.6% |
| 1986 | 14,389 1000 ha | -0.0% |
| 1987 | 14,274 1000 ha | -0.8% |
| 1988 | 14,190 1000 ha | -0.6% |
| 1989 | 14,100 1000 ha | -0.6% |
| 1990 | 13,917 1000 ha | -1.3% |
| 1991 | 13,759 1000 ha | -1.1% |
| 1992 | 13,601 1000 ha | -1.1% |
| 1993 | 13,444 1000 ha | -1.2% |
| 1994 | 13,286 1000 ha | -1.2% |
| 1995 | 13,128 1000 ha | -1.2% |
| 1996 | 12,970 1000 ha | -1.2% |
| 1997 | 12,813 1000 ha | -1.2% |
| 1998 | 12,655 1000 ha | -1.2% |
| 1999 | 12,497 1000 ha | -1.2% |
| 2000 | 12,340 1000 ha | -1.3% |
| 2001 | 12,182 1000 ha | -1.3% |
| 2002 | 12,024 1000 ha | -1.3% |
| 2003 | 11,858 1000 ha | -1.4% |
| 2004 | 11,890 1000 ha | +0.3% |
| 2005 | 11,712 1000 ha | -1.5% |
| 2006 | 11,375 1000 ha | -2.9% |
| 2007 | 11,487 1000 ha | +1.0% |
| 2008 | 11,374 1000 ha | -1.0% |
| 2009 | 11,490 1000 ha | +1.0% |
| 2010 | 11,408 1000 ha | -0.7% |
| 2011 | 11,371 1000 ha | -0.3% |
| 2012 | 11,209 1000 ha | -1.4% |
| 2013 | 11,106 1000 ha | -0.9% |
| 2014 | 11,116 1000 ha | +0.1% |
| 2015 | 10,712 1000 ha | -3.6% |
| 2016 | 10,614 1000 ha | -0.9% |
| 2017 | 10,644 1000 ha | +0.3% |
| 2018 | 10,498 1000 ha | -1.4% |
| 2019 | 10,345 1000 ha | -1.5% |
| 2020 | 10,154 1000 ha | -1.8% |
| 2021 | 10,175 1000 ha | +0.2% |
| 2022 | 9,747 1000 ha | -4.2% |
| 2023 | 9,711 1000 ha | -0.4% |
| 2024 | 9,693 1000 ha | -0.2% |
New Zealand compared with similar countries
- New Zealand's 9,693 1000 ha is above the median for high income countries, which is 851 1000 ha, 11.4× the median. (76 countries reporting)
- New Zealand's 9,693 1000 ha is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 246.84 1000 ha, 39.3× the median. (32 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 13,232 1000 ha | 13,091 1000 ha | 13,316 1000 ha | 9 |
| 1970s | 13,813 1000 ha | 13,086 1000 ha | 14,498 1000 ha | 10 |
| 1980s | 14,481 1000 ha | 14,100 1000 ha | 15,188 1000 ha | 10 |
| 1990s | 13,207 1000 ha | 12,497 1000 ha | 13,917 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2000s | 11,773 1000 ha | 11,374 1000 ha | 12,340 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2010s | 10,902 1000 ha | 10,345 1000 ha | 11,408 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2020s | 9,896 1000 ha | 9,693 1000 ha | 10,175 1000 ha | 5 |
Countries ranked near New Zealand
More environment data for New Zealand
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -0.2131 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 1.69 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.379 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.23 °C (2025)
- Wood-based panels — Production, annual growth rate 0.1365 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual -0.474 % 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 -0.9337 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is agricultural land — area in New Zealand?
- Agricultural land — area in New Zealand was 9,693 1000 ha in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest agricultural land — area recorded in New Zealand?
- The highest recorded value was 15,188 1000 ha in 1981.
- What is the lowest agricultural land — area recorded in New Zealand?
- The lowest recorded value was 9,693 1000 ha in 2024.
- How does New Zealand rank for agricultural land — area?
- New Zealand ranks 86th out of 255 countries with data for 2024.
- Is agricultural land — area rising or falling in New Zealand?
- Over the last ten years it is down 12.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this New Zealand data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Agricultural land — Area. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 64 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO).
About this data
The FAOSTAT Land Use domain contains data on twenty-one land use categories and twenty-three categories of irrigation and agricultural practices. Data are available yearly and by country, regional and global levels. The domain includes Land Use Indicators providing information on the percentage share of agricultural and forest land, and their sub-components, including irrigated areas and areas under organic agriculture, within a country land use matrix. Data are available at country, regional and global level, for the following elements: (in percentage) i) Share in Land area; ii) Share in Agricultural land, iii) Share in Cropland; and iv) Share in Forest land; (in ha/pc) v) Area per capita.