Imported deforestation in New Zealand

New Zealand: Imported deforestation was 2,993 hectares in 2023. ▼ Falling

Latest (2023)
2,993 hectares
Change on year
down 6.4%
World rank
74th
of 178 countries
All-time high
5,277 hectares
in 2012
All-time low
2,993 hectares
in 2023
Years of data
19
2005–2023

Imported deforestation in New Zealand, 2005–2023

02.0k4.0k6.0k2005201420232005: 4.7k hectares2006: 3.8k hectares2007: 5.1k hectares2008: 4.8k hectares2009: 4.1k hectares2010: 3.8k hectares2011: 4.1k hectares2012: 5.3k hectares2013: 5.2k hectares2014: 5.0k hectares2015: 4.7k hectares2016: 4.4k hectares2017: 5.0k hectares2018: 4.6k hectares2019: 4.0k hectares2020: 3.4k hectares2021: 3.6k hectares2022: 3.2k hectares2023: 3.0k hectares

Source: Singh et al. (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.

Analysis

The most recent figure for imported deforestation in New Zealand is 2,993 hectares, measured in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 19 years on record.

The figure is down 6.4% on the previous year and down 42.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, imported deforestation in New Zealand peaked at 5,277 hectares in 2012 and was at its lowest, 2,993 hectares, in 2023.

New Zealand ranks 74th of 178 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 19 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 4,512 hectares 3,839 hectares 5,075 hectares 5
2010s 4,594 hectares 3,807 hectares 5,277 hectares 10
2020s 3,316 hectares 2,993 hectares 3,626 hectares 4

Countries ranked near New Zealand

  1. 71 Cuba 3,141 hectares compare
  2. 72 Honduras 3,101 hectares compare
  3. 73 Uzbekistan 3,014 hectares compare
  4. 75 Oman 2,980 hectares compare
  5. 76 Kuwait 2,937 hectares compare
  6. 77 Nepal 2,904 hectares compare

See the full ranking of 178 places →

More environment data for New Zealand

All data for New Zealand →

Frequently asked questions

What is imported deforestation in New Zealand?
Imported deforestation in New Zealand was 2,993 hectares in 2023, according to Singh et al. (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest imported deforestation recorded in New Zealand?
The highest recorded value was 5,277 hectares in 2012.
What is the lowest imported deforestation recorded in New Zealand?
The lowest recorded value was 2,993 hectares in 2023.
How does New Zealand rank for imported deforestation?
New Zealand ranks 74th out of 178 countries with data for 2023.
Is imported deforestation rising or falling in New Zealand?
Over the last ten years it is down 42.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this New Zealand data come from?
The figures come from Singh et al. (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Imported deforestation. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 19 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Imported deforestation
Unit
hectares
Source
Singh et al. (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
178 places, 3,320 data points, 2005–2023
Last refreshed

Imported deforestation is the amount of deforestation in other countries that is driven by the production of food and forestry products that are imported. This is measured in hectares.