Share of land area used for agriculture in New Zealand
New Zealand: Share of land area used for agriculture was 36.9% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Share of land area used for agriculture in New Zealand, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of land area.
Analysis
In 2023, share of land area used for agriculture in New Zealand stood at 36.9%. That is the lowest value across all 63 years on record.
That represents a change of down 0.4% on the previous year and down 12.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of land area used for agriculture in New Zealand peaked at 57.7% in 1981 and was at its lowest, 36.9%, in 2023.
That places New Zealand 108th out of 209 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 63 years of available data.
Share of land area used for agriculture in New Zealand, year by year
| Year | % of land area | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 50.0% | — |
| 1962 | 50.3% | +0.6% |
| 1963 | 50.5% | +0.3% |
| 1964 | 50.6% | +0.2% |
| 1965 | 50.3% | -0.5% |
| 1966 | 50.3% | -0.1% |
| 1967 | 50.3% | +0.1% |
| 1968 | 50.3% | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 49.7% | -1.2% |
| 1970 | 49.7% | -0.0% |
| 1971 | 49.7% | -0.0% |
| 1972 | 51.2% | +3.1% |
| 1973 | 51.2% | -0.0% |
| 1974 | 51.2% | -0.0% |
| 1975 | 53.0% | +3.5% |
| 1976 | 54.5% | +2.9% |
| 1977 | 54.2% | -0.5% |
| 1978 | 55.1% | +1.6% |
| 1979 | 54.9% | -0.4% |
| 1980 | 55.4% | +1.0% |
| 1981 | 57.7% | +4.1% |
| 1982 | 55.5% | -3.7% |
| 1983 | 55.4% | -0.2% |
| 1984 | 55.0% | -0.8% |
| 1985 | 54.7% | -0.6% |
| 1986 | 54.6% | -0.0% |
| 1987 | 54.2% | -0.8% |
| 1988 | 53.9% | -0.6% |
| 1989 | 53.6% | -0.6% |
| 1990 | 52.9% | -1.3% |
| 1991 | 52.3% | -1.1% |
| 1992 | 51.7% | -1.1% |
| 1993 | 51.1% | -1.2% |
| 1994 | 50.5% | -1.2% |
| 1995 | 49.9% | -1.2% |
| 1996 | 49.3% | -1.2% |
| 1997 | 48.7% | -1.2% |
| 1998 | 48.1% | -1.2% |
| 1999 | 47.5% | -1.2% |
| 2000 | 46.9% | -1.3% |
| 2001 | 46.3% | -1.3% |
| 2002 | 45.7% | -1.3% |
| 2003 | 45.0% | -1.4% |
| 2004 | 45.2% | +0.3% |
| 2005 | 44.5% | -1.5% |
| 2006 | 43.2% | -2.9% |
| 2007 | 43.6% | +1.0% |
| 2008 | 43.2% | -1.0% |
| 2009 | 43.6% | +1.0% |
| 2010 | 43.3% | -0.7% |
| 2011 | 43.2% | -0.3% |
| 2012 | 42.6% | -1.4% |
| 2013 | 42.2% | -0.9% |
| 2014 | 42.2% | +0.1% |
| 2015 | 40.7% | -3.6% |
| 2016 | 40.3% | -0.9% |
| 2017 | 40.4% | +0.3% |
| 2018 | 39.9% | -1.4% |
| 2019 | 39.3% | -1.5% |
| 2020 | 38.6% | -1.8% |
| 2021 | 38.6% | +0.2% |
| 2022 | 37.0% | -4.2% |
| 2023 | 36.9% | -0.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 50.3% | 49.7% | 50.6% | 9 |
| 1970s | 52.5% | 49.7% | 55.1% | 10 |
| 1980s | 55.0% | 53.6% | 57.7% | 10 |
| 1990s | 50.2% | 47.5% | 52.9% | 10 |
| 2000s | 44.7% | 43.2% | 46.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 41.4% | 39.3% | 43.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 37.8% | 36.9% | 38.6% | 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 share of land area used for agriculture in New Zealand?
- Share of land area used for agriculture in New Zealand was 36.9% in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of land area used for agriculture recorded in New Zealand?
- The highest recorded value was 57.7% in 1981.
- What is the lowest share of land area used for agriculture recorded in New Zealand?
- The lowest recorded value was 36.9% in 2023.
- How does New Zealand rank for share of land area used for agriculture?
- New Zealand ranks 108th out of 209 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of land area used for agriculture rising or falling in New Zealand?
- Over the last ten years it is down 12.6%. 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 (FAO), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of land area used for agriculture. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 63 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
The share of land area used for agriculture, measured as a percentage of total land area. Agricultural land refers to the share of land area that is arable, under permanent crops, and under permanent pastures.