Arable land — Area in New Zealand
New Zealand: Arable land — Area was 522 1000 ha in 2024. ▲ Rising
Arable land — Area in New Zealand, 1961–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in 1000 ha.
Analysis
In 2024, arable land — area in New Zealand stood at 522 1000 ha.
The figure is up 0.4% on the previous year and down 11.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, arable land — area in New Zealand peaked at 616 1000 ha in 2021 and was at its lowest, 367.5 1000 ha, in 1974.
New Zealand ranks 144th of 248 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 64 years of available data.
Arable land — Area in New Zealand, year by year
| Year | 1000 ha | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 381 1000 ha | — |
| 1962 | 381 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 380 1000 ha | -0.3% |
| 1964 | 380 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 380 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 1966 | 380 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 1967 | 378 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 1968 | 378 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 378 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 376 1000 ha | -0.5% |
| 1971 | 376 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 375.8 1000 ha | -0.1% |
| 1973 | 371.65 1000 ha | -1.1% |
| 1974 | 367.5 1000 ha | -1.1% |
| 1975 | 383.5 1000 ha | +4.4% |
| 1976 | 399.5 1000 ha | +4.2% |
| 1977 | 401.2 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 1978 | 402.9 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 1979 | 420 1000 ha | +4.2% |
| 1980 | 400 1000 ha | -4.8% |
| 1981 | 415.5 1000 ha | +3.9% |
| 1982 | 438 1000 ha | +5.4% |
| 1983 | 446.5 1000 ha | +1.9% |
| 1984 | 456 1000 ha | +2.1% |
| 1985 | 469 1000 ha | +2.9% |
| 1986 | 465 1000 ha | -0.9% |
| 1987 | 420 1000 ha | -9.7% |
| 1988 | 374 1000 ha | -11.0% |
| 1989 | 378.5 1000 ha | +1.2% |
| 1990 | 380 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 1991 | 383 1000 ha | +0.8% |
| 1992 | 387.09 1000 ha | +1.1% |
| 1993 | 390.78 1000 ha | +1.0% |
| 1994 | 391.46 1000 ha | +0.2% |
| 1995 | 394.15 1000 ha | +0.7% |
| 1996 | 396.83 1000 ha | +0.7% |
| 1997 | 398.58 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 1998 | 400.33 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 1999 | 402.09 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2000 | 403.88 1000 ha | +0.4% |
| 2001 | 402.7 1000 ha | -0.3% |
| 2002 | 401.4 1000 ha | -0.3% |
| 2003 | 415 1000 ha | +3.4% |
| 2004 | 420 1000 ha | +1.2% |
| 2005 | 425 1000 ha | +1.2% |
| 2006 | 399 1000 ha | -6.1% |
| 2007 | 431 1000 ha | +8.0% |
| 2008 | 453 1000 ha | +5.1% |
| 2009 | 471 1000 ha | +4.0% |
| 2010 | 499 1000 ha | +5.9% |
| 2011 | 471 1000 ha | -5.6% |
| 2012 | 509 1000 ha | +8.1% |
| 2013 | 547 1000 ha | +7.5% |
| 2014 | 590 1000 ha | +7.9% |
| 2015 | 478 1000 ha | -19.0% |
| 2016 | 541 1000 ha | +13.2% |
| 2017 | 491 1000 ha | -9.2% |
| 2018 | 518.5 1000 ha | +5.6% |
| 2019 | 546 1000 ha | +5.3% |
| 2020 | 527 1000 ha | -3.5% |
| 2021 | 616 1000 ha | +16.9% |
| 2022 | 533 1000 ha | -13.5% |
| 2023 | 520 1000 ha | -2.4% |
| 2024 | 522 1000 ha | +0.4% |
New Zealand compared with similar countries
- New Zealand's 522 1000 ha is above the median for high income countries, which is 172.25 1000 ha, 3.0× the median. (74 countries reporting)
- New Zealand's 522 1000 ha is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 94.15 1000 ha, 5.5× the median. (30 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 379.56 1000 ha | 378 1000 ha | 381 1000 ha | 9 |
| 1970s | 387.41 1000 ha | 367.5 1000 ha | 420 1000 ha | 10 |
| 1980s | 426.25 1000 ha | 374 1000 ha | 469 1000 ha | 10 |
| 1990s | 392.43 1000 ha | 380 1000 ha | 402.09 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2000s | 422.2 1000 ha | 399 1000 ha | 471 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2010s | 519.05 1000 ha | 471 1000 ha | 590 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2020s | 543.6 1000 ha | 520 1000 ha | 616 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 arable land — area in New Zealand?
- Arable land — area in New Zealand was 522 1000 ha in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest arable land — area recorded in New Zealand?
- The highest recorded value was 616 1000 ha in 2021.
- What is the lowest arable land — area recorded in New Zealand?
- The lowest recorded value was 367.5 1000 ha in 1974.
- How does New Zealand rank for arable land — area?
- New Zealand ranks 144th out of 248 countries with data for 2024.
- Is arable land — area rising or falling in New Zealand?
- Over the last ten years it is down 11.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this New Zealand data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Arable 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.