Share of land used for permanent meadows and pastures in New Zealand
New Zealand: Share of land used for permanent meadows and pastures was 34.63 percent in 2023. ▼ Falling
Share of land used for permanent meadows and pastures in New Zealand, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in percent.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of land used for permanent meadows and pastures in New Zealand is 34.63 percent, measured in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 63 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.3% on the previous year and down 13.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of land used for permanent meadows and pastures in New Zealand peaked at 55.96 percent in 1981 and was at its lowest, 34.63 percent, in 2023.
That places New Zealand 41st out of 208 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 63 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 48.71 percent | 48.18 percent | 49.03 percent | 9 |
| 1970s | 50.88 percent | 48.16 percent | 53.42 percent | 10 |
| 1980s | 53.23 percent | 51.94 percent | 55.96 percent | 10 |
| 1990s | 48.49 percent | 45.75 percent | 51.23 percent | 10 |
| 2000s | 42.88 percent | 41.21 percent | 45.14 percent | 10 |
| 2010s | 39.17 percent | 36.93 percent | 41.16 percent | 10 |
| 2020s | 35.41 percent | 34.63 percent | 36.28 percent | 4 |
Countries ranked near New Zealand
More reference data data for New Zealand
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Frequently asked questions
- What is share of land used for permanent meadows and pastures in New Zealand?
- Share of land used for permanent meadows and pastures in New Zealand was 34.63 percent 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 share of land used for permanent meadows and pastures recorded in New Zealand?
- The highest recorded value was 55.96 percent in 1981.
- What is the lowest share of land used for permanent meadows and pastures recorded in New Zealand?
- The lowest recorded value was 34.63 percent in 2023.
- How does New Zealand rank for share of land used for permanent meadows and pastures?
- New Zealand ranks 41st out of 208 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of land used for permanent meadows and pastures rising or falling in New Zealand?
- Over the last ten years it is down 13.1%. 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 (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of land used for permanent meadows and pastures. 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
Permanent meadows and pastures are areas used permanently (five years or more) for herbaceous forage crops, either cultivated or growing wild (wild prairie or grazing land).