Agricultural land — Share in Land area in New Zealand
New Zealand: Agricultural land — Share in Land area was 36.81 % in 2024. ▼ Falling
Agricultural land — Share in Land area in New Zealand, 1961–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, agricultural land — share in land area in New Zealand stood at 36.81 %. 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 — share in land area in New Zealand peaked at 57.68 % in 1981 and was at its lowest, 36.81 %, in 2024.
New Zealand ranks 110th of 220 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 64 years of available data.
Agricultural land — Share in Land area in New Zealand, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 49.99 % | — |
| 1962 | 50.31 % | +0.6% |
| 1963 | 50.47 % | +0.3% |
| 1964 | 50.57 % | +0.2% |
| 1965 | 50.33 % | -0.5% |
| 1966 | 50.26 % | -0.1% |
| 1967 | 50.31 % | +0.1% |
| 1968 | 50.31 % | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 49.72 % | -1.2% |
| 1970 | 49.71 % | -0.0% |
| 1971 | 49.7 % | -0.0% |
| 1972 | 51.22 % | +3.1% |
| 1973 | 51.2 % | -0.0% |
| 1974 | 51.18 % | -0.0% |
| 1975 | 52.95 % | +3.5% |
| 1976 | 54.51 % | +2.9% |
| 1977 | 54.22 % | -0.5% |
| 1978 | 55.06 % | +1.5% |
| 1979 | 54.85 % | -0.4% |
| 1980 | 55.41 % | +1.0% |
| 1981 | 57.68 % | +4.1% |
| 1982 | 55.52 % | -3.7% |
| 1983 | 55.42 % | -0.2% |
| 1984 | 54.97 % | -0.8% |
| 1985 | 54.66 % | -0.6% |
| 1986 | 54.65 % | -0.0% |
| 1987 | 54.21 % | -0.8% |
| 1988 | 53.89 % | -0.6% |
| 1989 | 53.55 % | -0.6% |
| 1990 | 52.85 % | -1.3% |
| 1991 | 52.25 % | -1.1% |
| 1992 | 51.65 % | -1.1% |
| 1993 | 51.06 % | -1.1% |
| 1994 | 50.46 % | -1.2% |
| 1995 | 49.86 % | -1.2% |
| 1996 | 49.26 % | -1.2% |
| 1997 | 48.66 % | -1.2% |
| 1998 | 48.06 % | -1.2% |
| 1999 | 47.46 % | -1.2% |
| 2000 | 46.86 % | -1.3% |
| 2001 | 46.26 % | -1.3% |
| 2002 | 45.67 % | -1.3% |
| 2003 | 45.03 % | -1.4% |
| 2004 | 45.16 % | +0.3% |
| 2005 | 44.48 % | -1.5% |
| 2006 | 43.2 % | -2.9% |
| 2007 | 43.63 % | +1.0% |
| 2008 | 43.2 % | -1.0% |
| 2009 | 43.64 % | +1.0% |
| 2010 | 43.33 % | -0.7% |
| 2011 | 43.18 % | -0.3% |
| 2012 | 42.57 % | -1.4% |
| 2013 | 42.18 % | -0.9% |
| 2014 | 42.22 % | +0.1% |
| 2015 | 40.68 % | -3.6% |
| 2016 | 40.31 % | -0.9% |
| 2017 | 40.42 % | +0.3% |
| 2018 | 39.87 % | -1.4% |
| 2019 | 39.29 % | -1.5% |
| 2020 | 38.56 % | -1.9% |
| 2021 | 38.64 % | +0.2% |
| 2022 | 37.02 % | -4.2% |
| 2023 | 36.88 % | -0.4% |
| 2024 | 36.81 % | -0.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 50.25 % | 49.72 % | 50.57 % | 9 |
| 1970s | 52.46 % | 49.7 % | 55.06 % | 10 |
| 1980s | 55 % | 53.55 % | 57.68 % | 10 |
| 1990s | 50.16 % | 47.46 % | 52.85 % | 10 |
| 2000s | 44.71 % | 43.2 % | 46.86 % | 10 |
| 2010s | 41.41 % | 39.29 % | 43.33 % | 10 |
| 2020s | 37.58 % | 36.81 % | 38.64 % | 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)
- Paper and paperboard — Import quantity, annual growth rate 15.34 % change on previous year (2024)
- Paper and paperboard — Import quantity, per unit of GDP 0 t per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Paper and paperboard — Import quantity, per capita 0.0722 t per person (2024)
- Paper and paperboard — Import value, annual growth rate 4.31 % change on previous year (2024)
- Paper and paperboard — Import value, per unit of GDP 0 1000 USD per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is agricultural land — share in land area in New Zealand?
- Agricultural land — share in land area in New Zealand was 36.81 % in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest agricultural land — share in land area recorded in New Zealand?
- The highest recorded value was 57.68 % in 1981.
- What is the lowest agricultural land — share in land area recorded in New Zealand?
- The lowest recorded value was 36.81 % in 2024.
- How does New Zealand rank for agricultural land — share in land area?
- New Zealand ranks 110th out of 220 countries with data for 2024.
- Is agricultural land — share in 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 — Share in 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.