Planted Forest — Share in Forest land in New Zealand
New Zealand: Planted Forest — Share in Forest land was 23.63 % in 2025. ▲ Rising
Planted Forest — Share in Forest land in New Zealand, 1990–2025
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2025, planted forest — share in forest land in New Zealand stood at 23.63 %. That is the highest value across all 36 years on record.
The figure is up 1.9% on the previous year and up 14.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, planted forest — share in forest land in New Zealand peaked at 23.63 % in 2025 and was at its lowest, 16.34 %, in 1990.
New Zealand ranks 61st of 207 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.
Planted Forest — Share in Forest land in New Zealand, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 16.34 % | — |
| 1991 | 16.78 % | +2.7% |
| 1992 | 17.22 % | +2.6% |
| 1993 | 17.65 % | +2.5% |
| 1994 | 18.08 % | +2.4% |
| 1995 | 18.5 % | +2.3% |
| 1996 | 18.92 % | +2.3% |
| 1997 | 19.34 % | +2.2% |
| 1998 | 19.75 % | +2.1% |
| 1999 | 20.16 % | +2.1% |
| 2000 | 20.56 % | +2.0% |
| 2001 | 20.56 % | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 20.56 % | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 20.56 % | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 20.56 % | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 20.56 % | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 20.56 % | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 20.56 % | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 20.56 % | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 20.56 % | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 20.56 % | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 20.56 % | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 20.56 % | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 20.56 % | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 20.56 % | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 20.57 % | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 20.72 % | +0.7% |
| 2017 | 20.86 % | +0.7% |
| 2018 | 21.01 % | +0.7% |
| 2019 | 21.16 % | +0.7% |
| 2020 | 21.3 % | +0.7% |
| 2021 | 21.78 % | +2.3% |
| 2022 | 22.25 % | +2.2% |
| 2023 | 22.72 % | +2.1% |
| 2024 | 23.18 % | +2.0% |
| 2025 | 23.63 % | +1.9% |
New Zealand compared with similar countries
- New Zealand's 23.63 % is above the median for high income countries, which is 19.3 %, 1.2× the median. (56 countries reporting)
- New Zealand's 23.63 % is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 6.33 %, 3.7× the median. (25 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 18.27 % | 16.34 % | 20.16 % | 10 |
| 2000s | 20.56 % | 20.56 % | 20.56 % | 10 |
| 2010s | 20.71 % | 20.56 % | 21.16 % | 10 |
| 2020s | 22.48 % | 21.3 % | 23.63 % | 6 |
Countries ranked near New Zealand
- 58 Lesotho 25.12 % compare
- 59 Côte d'Ivoire 23.93 % compare
- 59 Cote d'Ivoire 23.93 % compare
- 62 Micronesia 22.51 % compare
- 63 Micronesia (Federated States of) 22.01 % compare
- 64 Tunisia 21.92 % compare
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)
Frequently asked questions
- What is planted forest — share in forest land in New Zealand?
- Planted forest — share in forest land in New Zealand was 23.63 % in 2025, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest planted forest — share in forest land recorded in New Zealand?
- The highest recorded value was 23.63 % in 2025.
- What is the lowest planted forest — share in forest land recorded in New Zealand?
- The lowest recorded value was 16.34 % in 1990.
- How does New Zealand rank for planted forest — share in forest land?
- New Zealand ranks 61st out of 207 countries with data for 2025.
- Is planted forest — share in forest land rising or falling in New Zealand?
- Over the last ten years it is up 14.9%. 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 Planted Forest — Share in Forest land. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 36 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO).
About this data
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.