Naturally regenerating forest — Share in Forest land in New Zealand

New Zealand: Naturally regenerating forest — Share in Forest land was 76.37 % in 2025. ▼ Falling

Latest (2025)
76.37 %
Change on year
down 0.6%
World rank
159th
of 206 countries
All-time high
83.66 %
in 1990
All-time low
76.37 %
in 2025
Years of data
36
1990–2025

Naturally regenerating forest — Share in Forest land in New Zealand, 1990–2025

0204060801990200720251990: 83.7 %1991: 83.2 %1992: 82.8 %1993: 82.3 %1994: 81.9 %1995: 81.5 %1996: 81.1 %1997: 80.7 %1998: 80.2 %1999: 79.8 %2000: 79.4 %2001: 79.4 %2002: 79.4 %2003: 79.4 %2004: 79.4 %2005: 79.4 %2006: 79.4 %2007: 79.4 %2008: 79.4 %2009: 79.4 %2010: 79.4 %2011: 79.4 %2012: 79.4 %2013: 79.4 %2014: 79.4 %2015: 79.4 %2016: 79.3 %2017: 79.1 %2018: 79 %2019: 78.8 %2020: 78.7 %2021: 78.2 %2022: 77.8 %2023: 77.3 %2024: 76.8 %2025: 76.4 %

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

Analysis

In 2025, naturally regenerating forest — share in forest land in New Zealand stood at 76.37 %. That is the lowest value across all 36 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.6% on the previous year and down 3.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, naturally regenerating forest — share in forest land in New Zealand peaked at 83.66 % in 1990 and was at its lowest, 76.37 %, in 2025.

New Zealand ranks 159th of 206 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 36 years of available data.

Naturally regenerating forest — Share in Forest land in New Zealand, year by year

Annual values for Naturally regenerating forest — Share in Forest land in New Zealand, 1990 to 2025.
Year % Change
1990 83.66 %
1991 83.22 % -0.5%
1992 82.78 % -0.5%
1993 82.35 % -0.5%
1994 81.92 % -0.5%
1995 81.5 % -0.5%
1996 81.08 % -0.5%
1997 80.66 % -0.5%
1998 80.25 % -0.5%
1999 79.84 % -0.5%
2000 79.44 % -0.5%
2001 79.44 % +0.0%
2002 79.44 % +0.0%
2003 79.44 % +0.0%
2004 79.44 % +0.0%
2005 79.44 % +0.0%
2006 79.44 % +0.0%
2007 79.44 % +0.0%
2008 79.44 % +0.0%
2009 79.44 % +0.0%
2010 79.44 % +0.0%
2011 79.44 % +0.0%
2012 79.44 % +0.0%
2013 79.44 % +0.0%
2014 79.44 % +0.0%
2015 79.43 % -0.0%
2016 79.28 % -0.2%
2017 79.14 % -0.2%
2018 78.99 % -0.2%
2019 78.84 % -0.2%
2020 78.7 % -0.2%
2021 78.22 % -0.6%
2022 77.75 % -0.6%
2023 77.28 % -0.6%
2024 76.82 % -0.6%
2025 76.37 % -0.6%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 81.73 % 79.84 % 83.66 % 10
2000s 79.44 % 79.44 % 79.44 % 10
2010s 79.29 % 78.84 % 79.44 % 10
2020s 77.52 % 76.37 % 78.7 % 6

Countries ranked near New Zealand

  1. 156 Fiji 79.99 % compare
  2. 157 Uganda 78.28 % compare
  3. 158 Tunisia 78.08 % compare
  4. 160 Lesotho 74.88 % compare
  5. 161 Belarus 74.76 % compare
  6. 162 Azerbaijan 74.62 % compare

See the full ranking of 258 places →

More environment data for New Zealand

All data for New Zealand →

Frequently asked questions

What is naturally regenerating forest — share in forest land in New Zealand?
Naturally regenerating forest — share in forest land in New Zealand was 76.37 % in 2025, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
What is the highest naturally regenerating forest — share in forest land recorded in New Zealand?
The highest recorded value was 83.66 % in 1990.
What is the lowest naturally regenerating forest — share in forest land recorded in New Zealand?
The lowest recorded value was 76.37 % in 2025.
How does New Zealand rank for naturally regenerating forest — share in forest land?
New Zealand ranks 159th out of 206 countries with data for 2025.
Is naturally regenerating forest — share in forest land rising or falling in New Zealand?
Over the last ten years it is down 3.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this New Zealand data come from?
The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Naturally regenerating forest — Share in Forest land. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Naturally regenerating forest — Share in Forest land in New Zealand. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 22 August 2026, from https://environment.statizoid.com/stat/naturally-regenerating-forest-share-in-forest-land/new-zealand/

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About this data

Indicator
Naturally regenerating forest — Share in Forest land
Unit
%
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)
Coverage
258 places, 8,989 data points, 1990–2025
Last refreshed

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.