Primary Forest — Area in New Zealand
New Zealand: Primary Forest — Area was 2,000 1000 ha in 2025. ▼ Falling
Primary Forest — Area in New Zealand, 1990–2025
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in 1000 ha.
Analysis
New Zealand recorded 2,000 1000 ha for primary forest — area in 2025.
The figure is up 1.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, primary forest — area in New Zealand peaked at 2,171 1000 ha in 2010 and was at its lowest, 1,973 1000 ha, in 2015.
New Zealand ranks 29th of 182 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 36 years of available data.
Primary Forest — Area in New Zealand, year by year
| Year | 1000 ha | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 2,110 1000 ha | — |
| 1991 | 2,110 1000 ha | -0.0% |
| 1992 | 2,109 1000 ha | -0.0% |
| 1993 | 2,109 1000 ha | -0.0% |
| 1994 | 2,109 1000 ha | -0.0% |
| 1995 | 2,109 1000 ha | -0.0% |
| 1996 | 2,108 1000 ha | -0.0% |
| 1997 | 2,108 1000 ha | -0.0% |
| 1998 | 2,108 1000 ha | -0.0% |
| 1999 | 2,108 1000 ha | -0.0% |
| 2000 | 2,108 1000 ha | -0.0% |
| 2001 | 2,114 1000 ha | +0.3% |
| 2002 | 2,120 1000 ha | +0.3% |
| 2003 | 2,127 1000 ha | +0.3% |
| 2004 | 2,133 1000 ha | +0.3% |
| 2005 | 2,139 1000 ha | +0.3% |
| 2006 | 2,146 1000 ha | +0.3% |
| 2007 | 2,152 1000 ha | +0.3% |
| 2008 | 2,158 1000 ha | +0.3% |
| 2009 | 2,165 1000 ha | +0.3% |
| 2010 | 2,171 1000 ha | +0.3% |
| 2011 | 2,132 1000 ha | -1.8% |
| 2012 | 2,092 1000 ha | -1.9% |
| 2013 | 2,052 1000 ha | -1.9% |
| 2014 | 2,013 1000 ha | -1.9% |
| 2015 | 1,973 1000 ha | -2.0% |
| 2016 | 1,979 1000 ha | +0.3% |
| 2017 | 1,984 1000 ha | +0.3% |
| 2018 | 1,989 1000 ha | +0.3% |
| 2019 | 1,995 1000 ha | +0.3% |
| 2020 | 2,000 1000 ha | +0.3% |
| 2021 | 2,000 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 2,000 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 2,000 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 2,000 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 2,000 1000 ha | +0.0% |
New Zealand compared with similar countries
- New Zealand's 2,000 1000 ha is above the median for high income countries, which is 5.92 1000 ha, 338.1× the median. (62 countries reporting)
- New Zealand's 2,000 1000 ha is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 241.05 1000 ha, 8.3× the median. (26 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 2,109 1000 ha | 2,108 1000 ha | 2,110 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2000s | 2,136 1000 ha | 2,108 1000 ha | 2,165 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2010s | 2,038 1000 ha | 1,973 1000 ha | 2,171 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2020s | 2,000 1000 ha | 2,000 1000 ha | 2,000 1000 ha | 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)
- 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 primary forest — area in New Zealand?
- Primary forest — area in New Zealand was 2,000 1000 ha in 2025, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest primary forest — area recorded in New Zealand?
- The highest recorded value was 2,171 1000 ha in 2010.
- What is the lowest primary forest — area recorded in New Zealand?
- The lowest recorded value was 1,973 1000 ha in 2015.
- How does New Zealand rank for primary forest — area?
- New Zealand ranks 29th out of 182 countries with data for 2025.
- Is primary forest — area rising or falling in New Zealand?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.4%. 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 Primary Forest — Area. 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.