Share of land area that is protected in New Zealand
New Zealand: Share of land area that is protected was 33.4% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Share of land area that is protected in New Zealand, 2013–2025
Source: Protected Planet WDPA and WD-OECM data, UNEP-WCMC and IUCN, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of total land area.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of land area that is protected in New Zealand is 33.4%, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 13 years on record.
The figure is up 2.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of land area that is protected in New Zealand peaked at 33.4% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 27.3%, in 2013.
That places New Zealand 30th out of 213 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 13 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 31.8% | 27.3% | 32.8% | 7 |
| 2020s | 33.4% | 33.4% | 33.4% | 6 |
Countries ranked near New Zealand
More reference data data for New Zealand
- Spring temperature anomalies 0.2008 °C (2026)
- Summer temperature anomalies 1.76 °C (2026)
- Temperature anomalies by month 0.0464 °C (2026)
- Universal right to vote in practice 2 (2025)
- Autumn temperature anomalies 0.5251 °C (2025)
- Winter temperature anomalies 0.5536 °C (2025)
- Consumer price index 144.86 2010 = 100 (2025)
- Universal right to vote 2 (2025)
- Competitive elections 1 (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote 1 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of land area that is protected in New Zealand?
- Share of land area that is protected in New Zealand was 33.4% in 2025, according to Protected Planet WDPA and WD-OECM data, UNEP-WCMC and IUCN, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of land area that is protected recorded in New Zealand?
- The highest recorded value was 33.4% in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of land area that is protected recorded in New Zealand?
- The lowest recorded value was 27.3% in 2013.
- How does New Zealand rank for share of land area that is protected?
- New Zealand ranks 30th out of 213 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of land area that is protected rising or falling in New Zealand?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this New Zealand data come from?
- The figures come from Protected Planet WDPA and WD-OECM data, UNEP-WCMC and IUCN, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of land area that is protected. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 13 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Terrestrial protected areas are areas of at least 1,000 hectares that are designated by national authorities in order to preserve their ecosystem services and cultural values.