Environment
New Zealand
Climate
temperate exhibiting pronounced regional variations
Land use
other
24.5% (2023 est.)
forest
38.6% (2023 est.)
agricultural land
36.9% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: arable land
arable land: 2% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: permanent crops
permanent crops: 0.3% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: permanent pasture
permanent pasture: 34.6% (2023 est.)
Urbanization
urban population
87% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization
0.92% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Methane emissions
other
6.2 kt (2019-2021 est.)
waste
158.8 kt (2019-2021 est.)
energy
95.4 kt (2022-2024 est.)
agriculture
1,105.6 kt (2019-2021 est.)
Waste and recycling
municipal solid waste generated annually
3.405 million tons (2024 est.)
percent of municipal solid waste recycled
22% (2022 est.)
Environmental issues
water quality and accessibility; swift urban expansion; deforestation; soil erosion and deterioration; indigenous plants and animals significantly affected by non-native species
Total water withdrawal
municipal
547 million cubic meters (2022)
industrial
1.184 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)
agricultural
3.207 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)
Carbon dioxide emissions
total emissions
33.506 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
from consumed natural gas
7.43 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
from coal and metallurgical coke
4.24 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
from petroleum and other liquids
21.836 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
Particulate matter emissions
8.7 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)
Total renewable water resources
327 billion cubic meters (2022)
International environmental agreements
party to
Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified
Antarctic Seals, Marine Life Conservation