Annual afforestation in New Zealand
New Zealand: Annual afforestation was 71,900 hectares per year in 2020. ◆ Volatile
Annual afforestation in New Zealand, 1990–2020
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares per year.
Analysis
New Zealand recorded 71,900 hectares per year for annual afforestation in 2020. That is the highest value across all 5 years on record.
The figure is up 798.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, annual afforestation in New Zealand peaked at 71,900 hectares per year in 2020 and was at its lowest, 8,000 hectares per year, in 2010.
That places New Zealand 4th out of 106 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the top 10%.
Annual afforestation in New Zealand, year by year
| Year | hectares per year | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 62,000 hectares per year | — |
| 2000 | 15,000 hectares per year | -75.8% |
| 2010 | 8,000 hectares per year | -46.7% |
| 2015 | 20,000 hectares per year | +150.0% |
| 2020 | 71,900 hectares per year | +259.5% |
New Zealand compared with similar countries
- New Zealand's 71,900 hectares per year is above the median for high income countries, which is 425 hectares per year, 169.2× the median. (46 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 62,000 hectares per year | 62,000 hectares per year | 62,000 hectares per year | 1 |
| 2000s | 15,000 hectares per year | 15,000 hectares per year | 15,000 hectares per year | 1 |
| 2010s | 14,000 hectares per year | 8,000 hectares per year | 20,000 hectares per year | 2 |
| 2020s | 71,900 hectares per year | 71,900 hectares per year | 71,900 hectares per year | 1 |
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)
- 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)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is annual afforestation in New Zealand?
- Annual afforestation in New Zealand was 71,900 hectares per year in 2020, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest annual afforestation recorded in New Zealand?
- The highest recorded value was 71,900 hectares per year in 2020.
- What is the lowest annual afforestation recorded in New Zealand?
- The lowest recorded value was 8,000 hectares per year in 2010.
- How does New Zealand rank for annual afforestation?
- New Zealand ranks 4th out of 106 countries with data for 2020.
- Is annual afforestation rising or falling in New Zealand?
- Over the last ten years it is up 798.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this New Zealand data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Annual afforestation. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 5 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Afforestation is the establishment of forest through planting and/or deliberate seeding on land that, until then, was not classified as forest.