What is cropland — area in New Zealand?

Cropland — area in New Zealand was 596 1000 ha in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

What is the highest cropland — area recorded in New Zealand?

The highest recorded value was 690 1000 ha in 2021.

What is the lowest cropland — area recorded in New Zealand?

The lowest recorded value was 397.5 1000 ha in 1974.

How does New Zealand rank for cropland — area?

New Zealand ranks 147th out of 252 countries with data for 2024.

Is cropland — area rising or falling in New Zealand?

Over the last ten years it is down 9.3%. 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 Cropland — Area. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Cropland — Area in New Zealand

Name: Cropland — Area in New Zealand
Creator: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
License: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)

New Zealand: Cropland — Area was 596 1000 ha in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)

596 1000 ha

Change on year

up 0.7%

World rank

147th

of 252 countries

All-time high

690 1000 ha

in 2021

All-time low

397.5 1000 ha

in 1974

Years of data

1961–2024

Cropland — Area in New Zealand, 1961–2024

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in 1000 ha.

Analysis

The most recent figure for cropland — area in New Zealand is 596 1000 ha, measured in 2024.

That represents a change of up 0.7% on the previous year and down 9.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, cropland — area in New Zealand peaked at 690 1000 ha in 2021 and was at its lowest, 397.5 1000 ha, in 1974.

New Zealand ranks 147th of 252 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.

Cropland — Area in New Zealand, year by year

Annual values for Cropland — Area in New Zealand, 1961 to 2024.
Year	1000 ha	Change
1961	406 1000 ha	—
1962	406 1000 ha	+0.0%
1963	406 1000 ha	+0.0%
1964	406 1000 ha	+0.0%
1965	406 1000 ha	+0.0%
1966	406 1000 ha	+0.0%
1967	406 1000 ha	+0.0%
1968	406 1000 ha	+0.0%
1969	406 1000 ha	+0.0%
1970	406 1000 ha	+0.0%
1971	406 1000 ha	+0.0%
1972	405.8 1000 ha	-0.0%
1973	401.65 1000 ha	-1.0%
1974	397.5 1000 ha	-1.0%
1975	413.5 1000 ha	+4.0%
1976	429.5 1000 ha	+3.9%
1977	431.2 1000 ha	+0.4%
1978	432.9 1000 ha	+0.4%
1979	453 1000 ha	+4.6%
1980	435 1000 ha	-4.0%
1981	452.5 1000 ha	+4.0%
1982	470 1000 ha	+3.9%
1983	482.5 1000 ha	+2.7%
1984	495 1000 ha	+2.6%
1985	512 1000 ha	+3.4%
1986	508 1000 ha	-0.8%
1987	464 1000 ha	-8.7%
1988	420 1000 ha	-9.5%
1989	423.5 1000 ha	+0.8%
1990	427 1000 ha	+0.8%
1991	429 1000 ha	+0.5%
1992	432.09 1000 ha	+0.7%
1993	434.78 1000 ha	+0.6%
1994	437.46 1000 ha	+0.6%
1995	440.15 1000 ha	+0.6%
1996	442.83 1000 ha	+0.6%
1997	445.58 1000 ha	+0.6%
1998	448.33 1000 ha	+0.6%
1999	451.1 1000 ha	+0.6%
2000	453.88 1000 ha	+0.6%
2001	456.7 1000 ha	+0.6%
2002	459.4 1000 ha	+0.6%
2003	470 1000 ha	+2.3%
2004	483 1000 ha	+2.8%
2005	488 1000 ha	+1.0%
2006	462 1000 ha	-5.3%
2007	500 1000 ha	+8.2%
2008	522 1000 ha	+4.4%
2009	542 1000 ha	+3.8%
2010	570 1000 ha	+5.2%
2011	542 1000 ha	-4.9%
2012	580.4 1000 ha	+7.1%
2013	618 1000 ha	+6.5%
2014	657 1000 ha	+6.3%
2015	545 1000 ha	-17.0%
2016	608 1000 ha	+11.6%
2017	558 1000 ha	-8.2%
2018	589 1000 ha	+5.6%
2019	620 1000 ha	+5.3%
2020	601 1000 ha	-3.1%
2021	690 1000 ha	+14.8%
2022	605 1000 ha	-12.3%
2023	592 1000 ha	-2.1%
2024	596 1000 ha	+0.7%

New Zealand compared with similar countries

New Zealand's 596 1000 ha is above the median for high income countries, which is 230.54 1000 ha, 2.6× the median. (75 countries reporting)
New Zealand's 596 1000 ha is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 129.14 1000 ha, 4.6× the median. (32 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1960s	406 1000 ha	406 1000 ha	406 1000 ha	9
1970s	417.71 1000 ha	397.5 1000 ha	453 1000 ha	10
1980s	466.25 1000 ha	420 1000 ha	512 1000 ha	10
1990s	438.83 1000 ha	427 1000 ha	451.1 1000 ha	10
2000s	483.7 1000 ha	453.88 1000 ha	542 1000 ha	10
2010s	588.74 1000 ha	542 1000 ha	657 1000 ha	10
2020s	616.8 1000 ha	592 1000 ha	690 1000 ha	5

Countries ranked near New Zealand

144 Albania 677.3 1000 ha compare
145 Congo 652.51 1000 ha compare
146 Gambia 614.41 1000 ha compare
148 Panama 593.32 1000 ha compare
149 Lesotho 583 1000 ha compare
150 Costa Rica 544.35 1000 ha compare

See the full ranking of 285 places →

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)

All data for New Zealand →

Frequently asked questions

What is cropland — area in New Zealand?: Cropland — area in New Zealand was 596 1000 ha in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
What is the highest cropland — area recorded in New Zealand?: The highest recorded value was 690 1000 ha in 2021.
What is the lowest cropland — area recorded in New Zealand?: The lowest recorded value was 397.5 1000 ha in 1974.
How does New Zealand rank for cropland — area?: New Zealand ranks 147th out of 252 countries with data for 2024.
Is cropland — area rising or falling in New Zealand?: Over the last ten years it is down 9.3%. 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 Cropland — 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).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Cropland — Area in New Zealand. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 27 September 2026, from https://environment.statizoid.com/stat/cropland-area-2/new-zealand/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://environment.statizoid.com/stat/cropland-area-2/new-zealand/">Cropland — Area in New Zealand</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator: Cropland — Area
Unit: 1000 ha
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)
Coverage: 285 places, 16,764 data points, 1961–2024
Last refreshed: 17 September 2026

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.