Forest area km in New Zealand
New Zealand: Forest area km was 10.30 million in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
10.30 million
Change on year
up 0.7%
World rank
52nd
of 235 countries
All-time high
10.30 million
in 2025
All-time low
9.37 million
in 1990
Years of data
36
1990–2025
Forest area km in New Zealand, 1990–2025
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for forest area km in New Zealand is 10.30 million, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 36 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.7% on the previous year and up 4.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, forest area km in New Zealand peaked at 10.30 million in 2025 and was at its lowest, 9.37 million, in 1990.
New Zealand ranks 52nd of 235 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 36 years of available data.
Forest area km in New Zealand, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 9.37 million | — |
| 1991 | 9.42 million | +0.5% |
| 1992 | 9.47 million | +0.5% |
| 1993 | 9.52 million | +0.5% |
| 1994 | 9.56 million | +0.5% |
| 1995 | 9.61 million | +0.5% |
| 1996 | 9.66 million | +0.5% |
| 1997 | 9.71 million | +0.5% |
| 1998 | 9.75 million | +0.5% |
| 1999 | 9.80 million | +0.5% |
| 2000 | 9.85 million | +0.5% |
| 2001 | 9.85 million | -0.0% |
| 2002 | 9.85 million | -0.0% |
| 2003 | 9.85 million | -0.0% |
| 2004 | 9.85 million | -0.0% |
| 2005 | 9.85 million | -0.0% |
| 2006 | 9.85 million | -0.0% |
| 2007 | 9.85 million | -0.0% |
| 2008 | 9.85 million | -0.0% |
| 2009 | 9.85 million | -0.0% |
| 2010 | 9.85 million | -0.0% |
| 2011 | 9.85 million | -0.0% |
| 2012 | 9.85 million | -0.0% |
| 2013 | 9.85 million | -0.0% |
| 2014 | 9.85 million | -0.0% |
| 2015 | 9.85 million | -0.0% |
| 2016 | 9.87 million | +0.2% |
| 2017 | 9.89 million | +0.2% |
| 2018 | 9.92 million | +0.2% |
| 2019 | 9.94 million | +0.2% |
| 2020 | 9.97 million | +0.2% |
| 2021 | 10.03 million | +0.7% |
| 2022 | 10.10 million | +0.7% |
| 2023 | 10.17 million | +0.7% |
| 2024 | 10.24 million | +0.7% |
| 2025 | 10.30 million | +0.7% |
New Zealand compared with similar countries
- New Zealand's 10.30 million is above the median for high income countries, which is 436,060, 23.6× the median. (83 countries reporting)
- New Zealand's 10.30 million is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 1.14 million, 9.1× the median. (35 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 9.59 million | 9.37 million | 9.80 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 9.85 million | 9.85 million | 9.85 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 9.87 million | 9.85 million | 9.94 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 10.13 million | 9.97 million | 10.30 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near New Zealand
More environment data for New Zealand
- Grazing land use over the long-term, annual growth rate -2 % change on previous year (2025)
- Grazing land use over the long-term, per unit of GDP 0 hectares per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Grazing land use over the long-term, per capita 1.63 hectares per person (2025)
- 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)
- Grazing land use over the long-term, per square kilometre 33.62 hectares per square kilometre (2024)
- Sawnwood, coniferous — Production, annual growth rate 11.46 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is forest area km in New Zealand?
- Forest area km in New Zealand was 10.30 million in 2025, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest forest area km recorded in New Zealand?
- The highest recorded value was 10.30 million in 2025.
- What is the lowest forest area km recorded in New Zealand?
- The lowest recorded value was 9.37 million in 1990.
- How does New Zealand rank for forest area km?
- New Zealand ranks 52nd out of 235 countries with data for 2025.
- Is forest area km 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 Our World in Data, published as part of Forest area km. 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).