Annual forest expansion in New Zealand
New Zealand: Annual forest expansion was 77,650 hectares per year in 2020. ◆ Volatile
Annual forest expansion 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
The most recent figure for annual forest expansion in New Zealand is 77,650 hectares per year, measured in 2020. That is the highest value across all 5 years on record.
That represents a change of up 834.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, annual forest expansion in New Zealand peaked at 77,650 hectares per year in 2020 and was at its lowest, 8,310 hectares per year, in 2010.
New Zealand ranks 7th of 110 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
Annual forest expansion in New Zealand, year by year
| Year | hectares per year | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 63,300 hectares per year | — |
| 2000 | 17,800 hectares per year | -71.9% |
| 2010 | 8,310 hectares per year | -53.3% |
| 2015 | 25,000 hectares per year | +200.8% |
| 2020 | 77,650 hectares per year | +210.6% |
New Zealand compared with similar countries
- New Zealand's 77,650 hectares per year is above the median for high income countries, which is 2,880 hectares per year, 27.0× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 63,300 hectares per year | 63,300 hectares per year | 63,300 hectares per year | 1 |
| 2000s | 17,800 hectares per year | 17,800 hectares per year | 17,800 hectares per year | 1 |
| 2010s | 16,655 hectares per year | 8,310 hectares per year | 25,000 hectares per year | 2 |
| 2020s | 77,650 hectares per year | 77,650 hectares per year | 77,650 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)
- 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 annual forest expansion in New Zealand?
- Annual forest expansion in New Zealand was 77,650 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 forest expansion recorded in New Zealand?
- The highest recorded value was 77,650 hectares per year in 2020.
- What is the lowest annual forest expansion recorded in New Zealand?
- The lowest recorded value was 8,310 hectares per year in 2010.
- How does New Zealand rank for annual forest expansion?
- New Zealand ranks 7th out of 110 countries with data for 2020.
- Is annual forest expansion rising or falling in New Zealand?
- Over the last ten years it is up 834.4%. 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 forest expansion. 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
Forest expansion is the sum of afforestation (the establishment of forest through planting and/or deliberate seeding) and natural forest expansion (expansion of forests through natural succession on land that, until then, was under another land use).