Is agricultural land expanding? Change over the prior decade in New Zealand
New Zealand: Is agricultural land expanding? Change over the prior decade was -12.6% in 2023. ◆ Volatile
Is agricultural land expanding? Change over the prior decade in New Zealand, 1971–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for is agricultural land expanding? change over the prior decade in New Zealand is -12.6%, measured in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 3.7% on the previous year and down 98.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, is agricultural land expanding? change over the prior decade in New Zealand peaked at 16.1% in 1981 and was at its lowest, -13.0%, in 2022.
New Zealand ranks 210th of 225 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Is agricultural land expanding? Change over the prior decade in New Zealand, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | -0.6% | — |
| 1972 | 1.8% | -406.9% |
| 1973 | 1.5% | -18.8% |
| 1974 | 1.2% | -16.8% |
| 1975 | 5.2% | +330.2% |
| 1976 | 8.5% | +62.3% |
| 1977 | 7.8% | -8.2% |
| 1978 | 9.4% | +21.4% |
| 1979 | 10.3% | +9.5% |
| 1980 | 11.5% | +11.2% |
| 1981 | 16.1% | +39.8% |
| 1982 | 8.4% | -47.6% |
| 1983 | 8.2% | -2.1% |
| 1984 | 7.4% | -10.3% |
| 1985 | 3.2% | -56.4% |
| 1986 | 0.2% | -92.3% |
| 1987 | -0.0% | -106.2% |
| 1988 | -2.1% | +13681.4% |
| 1989 | -2.4% | +11.7% |
| 1990 | -4.6% | +94.8% |
| 1991 | -9.4% | +103.7% |
| 1992 | -7.0% | -25.9% |
| 1993 | -7.9% | +12.9% |
| 1994 | -8.2% | +4.3% |
| 1995 | -8.8% | +7.1% |
| 1996 | -9.9% | +12.2% |
| 1997 | -10.2% | +3.8% |
| 1998 | -10.8% | +5.7% |
| 1999 | -11.4% | +5.1% |
| 2000 | -11.3% | -0.3% |
| 2001 | -11.5% | +1.1% |
| 2002 | -11.6% | +1.2% |
| 2003 | -11.8% | +1.7% |
| 2004 | -10.5% | -10.9% |
| 2005 | -10.8% | +2.7% |
| 2006 | -12.3% | +14.0% |
| 2007 | -10.3% | -15.9% |
| 2008 | -10.1% | -2.2% |
| 2009 | -8.1% | -20.4% |
| 2010 | -7.6% | -6.3% |
| 2011 | -6.7% | -11.8% |
| 2012 | -6.8% | +1.8% |
| 2013 | -6.3% | -6.4% |
| 2014 | -6.5% | +2.6% |
| 2015 | -8.5% | +31.2% |
| 2016 | -6.7% | -21.6% |
| 2017 | -7.3% | +9.7% |
| 2018 | -7.7% | +4.9% |
| 2019 | -10.0% | +29.4% |
| 2020 | -11.0% | +10.3% |
| 2021 | -10.5% | -4.3% |
| 2022 | -13.0% | +24.0% |
| 2023 | -12.6% | -3.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 5.0% | -0.6% | 10.3% | 9 |
| 1980s | 5.1% | -2.4% | 16.1% | 10 |
| 1990s | -8.8% | -11.4% | -4.6% | 10 |
| 2000s | -10.8% | -12.3% | -8.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | -7.4% | -10.0% | -6.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | -11.8% | -13.0% | -10.5% | 4 |
Countries ranked near New Zealand
More agriculture & rural data for New Zealand
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual -10.07 % change on previous year (2023)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0401 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 1,976 current US$ per person (2023)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 0.275 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.16 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 4.0% (2023)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 4.0% (2023)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 9.3% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.8% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is is agricultural land expanding? change over the prior decade in New Zealand?
- Is agricultural land expanding? change over the prior decade in New Zealand was -12.6% in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest is agricultural land expanding? change over the prior decade recorded in New Zealand?
- The highest recorded value was 16.1% in 1981.
- What is the lowest is agricultural land expanding? change over the prior decade recorded in New Zealand?
- The lowest recorded value was -13.0% in 2022.
- How does New Zealand rank for is agricultural land expanding? change over the prior decade?
- New Zealand ranks 210th out of 225 countries with data for 2023.
- Is is agricultural land expanding? change over the prior decade rising or falling in New Zealand?
- Over the last ten years it is down 98.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this New Zealand data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Is agricultural land expanding? Change over the prior decade. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 53 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Percentage change in surface area devoted to agriculture with respect to 10 years before. Negative values imply that surface area has decreased with respect to the previous decade. This data is used to assess which countries may have already peaked in their agricultural land use.