Annual change in forest area in New Zealand
New Zealand: Annual change in forest area was 67,548 hectares in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Annual change in forest area in New Zealand, 1991–2025
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
New Zealand recorded 67,548 hectares for annual change in forest area in 2025. That is the highest value across all 35 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 22,470.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, annual change in forest area in New Zealand peaked at 67,548 hectares in 2021 and was at its lowest, -301.95 hectares, in 2011.
New Zealand ranks 8th of 235 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 47,817 hectares | 47,817 hectares | 47,817 hectares | 9 |
| 2000s | 4,573 hectares | -232.03 hectares | 47,817 hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 9,320 hectares | -301.95 hectares | 23,736 hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 60,246 hectares | 23,736 hectares | 67,548 hectares | 6 |
Countries ranked near New Zealand
More environment data for New Zealand
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 77.84 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 14.71 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 29.69 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 0.0763 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 0.671 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.0207 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 34.4 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.0183 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.0794 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 3.78 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is annual change in forest area in New Zealand?
- Annual change in forest area in New Zealand was 67,548 hectares in 2025, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest annual change in forest area recorded in New Zealand?
- The highest recorded value was 67,548 hectares in 2021.
- What is the lowest annual change in forest area recorded in New Zealand?
- The lowest recorded value was -301.95 hectares in 2011.
- How does New Zealand rank for annual change in forest area?
- New Zealand ranks 8th out of 235 countries with data for 2025.
- Is annual change in forest area rising or falling in New Zealand?
- Over the last ten years it is up 22,470.4%. 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 change in forest area. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 35 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Net change in forest area measures forest expansion (the sum of afforestation and natural expansion) minus deforestation.