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
Latest (2023)
34.63 percent
Change on year
down 0.3%
World rank
41st
of 209 countries
All-time high
55.96 percent
in 1981
All-time low
34.63 percent
in 2023
Years of data
63
1961–2023
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 209 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.
Share of land used for permanent meadows and pastures in New Zealand, year by year
| Year | percent | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 48.45 percent | — |
| 1962 | 48.77 percent | +0.7% |
| 1963 | 48.92 percent | +0.3% |
| 1964 | 49.03 percent | +0.2% |
| 1965 | 48.79 percent | -0.5% |
| 1966 | 48.71 percent | -0.2% |
| 1967 | 48.77 percent | +0.1% |
| 1968 | 48.77 percent | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 48.18 percent | -1.2% |
| 1970 | 48.16 percent | -0.0% |
| 1971 | 48.16 percent | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 49.68 percent | +3.2% |
| 1973 | 49.68 percent | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 49.68 percent | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 51.38 percent | +3.4% |
| 1976 | 52.88 percent | +2.9% |
| 1977 | 52.58 percent | -0.6% |
| 1978 | 53.42 percent | +1.6% |
| 1979 | 53.13 percent | -0.5% |
| 1980 | 53.76 percent | +1.2% |
| 1981 | 55.96 percent | +4.1% |
| 1982 | 53.74 percent | -4.0% |
| 1983 | 53.58 percent | -0.3% |
| 1984 | 53.09 percent | -0.9% |
| 1985 | 52.72 percent | -0.7% |
| 1986 | 52.72 percent | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 52.45 percent | -0.5% |
| 1988 | 52.3 percent | -0.3% |
| 1989 | 51.94 percent | -0.7% |
| 1990 | 51.23 percent | -1.4% |
| 1991 | 50.62 percent | -1.2% |
| 1992 | 50.01 percent | -1.2% |
| 1993 | 49.4 percent | -1.2% |
| 1994 | 48.8 percent | -1.2% |
| 1995 | 48.19 percent | -1.2% |
| 1996 | 47.58 percent | -1.3% |
| 1997 | 46.97 percent | -1.3% |
| 1998 | 46.36 percent | -1.3% |
| 1999 | 45.75 percent | -1.3% |
| 2000 | 45.14 percent | -1.3% |
| 2001 | 44.53 percent | -1.4% |
| 2002 | 43.92 percent | -1.4% |
| 2003 | 43.25 percent | -1.5% |
| 2004 | 43.32 percent | +0.2% |
| 2005 | 42.63 percent | -1.6% |
| 2006 | 41.45 percent | -2.8% |
| 2007 | 41.73 percent | +0.7% |
| 2008 | 41.21 percent | -1.2% |
| 2009 | 41.58 percent | +0.9% |
| 2010 | 41.16 percent | -1.0% |
| 2011 | 41.13 percent | -0.1% |
| 2012 | 40.37 percent | -1.8% |
| 2013 | 39.83 percent | -1.3% |
| 2014 | 39.72 percent | -0.3% |
| 2015 | 38.61 percent | -2.8% |
| 2016 | 38 percent | -1.6% |
| 2017 | 38.3 percent | +0.8% |
| 2018 | 37.63 percent | -1.7% |
| 2019 | 36.93 percent | -1.9% |
| 2020 | 36.28 percent | -1.8% |
| 2021 | 36.02 percent | -0.7% |
| 2022 | 34.72 percent | -3.6% |
| 2023 | 34.63 percent | -0.3% |
New Zealand compared with similar countries
- New Zealand's 34.63 percent is above the median for high income countries, which is 9.66 percent, 3.6× the median. (71 countries reporting)
- New Zealand's 34.63 percent is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 2.93 percent, 11.8× the median. (31 countries reporting)
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
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.4532 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 9.92 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 10.93 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0459 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 10.93 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.52 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 1.53 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 42.17 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 47.53 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.2499 (2050)
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 209 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).