Share of land covered by forest in New Zealand
New Zealand: Share of land covered by forest was 39.1% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Share of land covered by forest in New Zealand, 1990–2025
Source: Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (2013) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
New Zealand recorded 39.1% for share of land covered by forest in 2025. That is the highest value across all 36 years on record.
The figure is up 0.7% on the previous year and up 4.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of land covered by forest in New Zealand peaked at 39.1% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 35.6%, in 1990.
New Zealand ranks 84th of 216 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 36 years of available data.
Share of land covered by forest in New Zealand, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 35.6% | — |
| 1991 | 35.8% | +0.5% |
| 1992 | 36.0% | +0.5% |
| 1993 | 36.1% | +0.5% |
| 1994 | 36.3% | +0.5% |
| 1995 | 36.5% | +0.5% |
| 1996 | 36.7% | +0.5% |
| 1997 | 36.9% | +0.5% |
| 1998 | 37.0% | +0.5% |
| 1999 | 37.2% | +0.5% |
| 2000 | 37.4% | +0.5% |
| 2001 | 37.4% | -0.0% |
| 2002 | 37.4% | -0.0% |
| 2003 | 37.4% | -0.0% |
| 2004 | 37.4% | -0.0% |
| 2005 | 37.4% | -0.0% |
| 2006 | 37.4% | -0.0% |
| 2007 | 37.4% | -0.0% |
| 2008 | 37.4% | -0.0% |
| 2009 | 37.4% | -0.0% |
| 2010 | 37.4% | -0.0% |
| 2011 | 37.4% | -0.0% |
| 2012 | 37.4% | -0.0% |
| 2013 | 37.4% | -0.0% |
| 2014 | 37.4% | -0.0% |
| 2015 | 37.4% | -0.0% |
| 2016 | 37.5% | +0.2% |
| 2017 | 37.6% | +0.2% |
| 2018 | 37.7% | +0.2% |
| 2019 | 37.8% | +0.2% |
| 2020 | 37.8% | +0.2% |
| 2021 | 38.1% | +0.7% |
| 2022 | 38.4% | +0.7% |
| 2023 | 38.6% | +0.7% |
| 2024 | 38.9% | +0.7% |
| 2025 | 39.1% | +0.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 36.4% | 35.6% | 37.2% | 10 |
| 2000s | 37.4% | 37.4% | 37.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 37.5% | 37.4% | 37.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 38.5% | 37.8% | 39.1% | 6 |
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)
- Paper and paperboard — Import quantity, annual growth rate 15.34 % change on previous year (2024)
- Paper and paperboard — Import quantity, per unit of GDP 0 t per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Paper and paperboard — Import quantity, per capita 0.0722 t per person (2024)
- Paper and paperboard — Import value, annual growth rate 4.31 % change on previous year (2024)
- Paper and paperboard — Import value, per unit of GDP 0 1000 USD per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of land covered by forest in New Zealand?
- Share of land covered by forest in New Zealand was 39.1% in 2025, according to Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (2013) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of land covered by forest recorded in New Zealand?
- The highest recorded value was 39.1% in 2025.
- What is the lowest share of land covered by forest recorded in New Zealand?
- The lowest recorded value was 35.6% in 1990.
- How does New Zealand rank for share of land covered by forest?
- New Zealand ranks 84th out of 216 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of land covered by forest rising or falling in New Zealand?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this New Zealand data come from?
- The figures come from Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (2013) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of land covered by forest. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 36 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Share of land area covered by forest, including both natural forests and forest plantations.