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New Zealand's land area: size rank & territory types

Updated on by Georank team

New Zealand's land area is 101,665 sq mi, and the total size is 103,483 sq mi, with inland water included. New Zealand rankes 74/197 by total surface area.

  • Occupies 0.18% of the land mass of all countries.
  • 36.9% of its territory is agricultural land.
  • New Zealand has 0.2% of the world's agricultural land area.
  • 37.8% of its area is covered by forests.
  • Has 0.25% of the world's forests.

New Zealand total size and land area

New Zealand Rank
Total surface area 103,483
sq mi
74/197
Share all of all countries' surface area 0.05% N/A
Land area 101,665
sq mi
74/197
Share of all countries' land area 0.18% N/A
Population 5,287,500 123/197
Population density 52.8 ppl/mi² 169/197

New Zealand's True Size on the Map

Drag New Zealand across the map to see how the Mercator projection distorts its apparent size at different latitudes. Add more countries to compare.

New Zealand's area by type

New Zealand Rank
Forest area 38,418
sq mi
53/196
Forest area as share of land 37.8% 74/196
World's forests share 0.25% N/A
Agricultural land 37,494
sq mi
72/194
Agricultural land share 36.9% 105/194
Share of global agricultural land 0.2% N/A
Arable land 2,008
sq mi
123/191
Arable land share 1.97% 161/191
Permanent cropland 278
sq mi
115/192
Permanent cropland share 0.27% 153/192
Water area 1,819
sq mi
65/197
Water as share of total area 1.76% 94/197
Roads length 60,159
mi
56/176
Land borders length 0
mi
181/197
Coastline length 9,404
mi
9/197
Share of marine protected waters 30.4% 13/155

New Zealand's size on the map

Data sources: World Bank | Agriculture & Rural Development (2026, retrieved 2026-04-06).

GeoRank.org/size/new-zealand | CC BY

The map above outlines the borders of New Zealand but is not accurate for size comparison because it's a 2d map with Mercator projection that distorts territories near the poles. The farther a country is from the equator, the more magnified it appears. More about country size projections.

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Data sources:

  1. World Bank | Agriculture & Rural Development (2022–2026, retrieved 2026-04-06)
  2. Wikidata (2026, retrieved 2026-02-08)
  3. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) (2025, retrieved 2026-02-20)
  4. United Nations | World Population Prospects (2026, retrieved 2026-03-10)

Total agricultural land encompasses all areas used for agriculture: territories under permanent and temporary crops and pastures. It includes land under flowering shrubs, fruit and nut trees, and vineyards, but excludes sites utilized for timber production.

Arable land encompasses fields utilized for temporary crop production, pastures, market or kitchen gardens, and temporarily fallowed land. Land abandoned due to shifting cultivation practices is not included.

Permanent cropland refers to farmland for the long-term cultivation of crops, such as coffee, cocoa, and rubber, which do not require replanting after each harvest. This category encompasses land with permanent crops like flowering shrubs, fruit and nut trees, and vines, but does not include land under trees for timber production.

Inland areas under water, such as large rivers, lakes, and some coastal waterways.

Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) — you’re free to copy, share, remix, adapt, and use even commercially as long as you give appropriate credit and clearly indicate if you made changes. Other sources may be subject to different license terms.