New Zealand Environment - 2022

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Environment - current issues

water quality and availability; rapid urbanization; deforestation; soil erosion and degradation; native flora and fauna hard-hit by invasive species

Environment - international 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

Air pollutants

particulate matter emissions: 5.73 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions: 34.38 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions: 34.3 megatons (2020 est.)

Climate

temperate with sharp regional contrasts

Land use

agricultural land: 43.2% (2018 est.)

arable land: 1.8% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 0.3% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 41.1% (2018 est.)

forest: 31.4% (2018 est.)

other: 25.4% (2018 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 87% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization: 0.92% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

total population growth rate v. urban population growth rate, 2000-2030

Revenue from forest resources

forest revenues: 0.5% of GDP (2018 est.)

Revenue from coal

coal revenues: 0.03% of GDP (2018 est.)

Waste and recycling

municipal solid waste generated annually: 3.405 million tons (2016 est.)

Major lakes (area sq km)

fresh water lake(s): Lake Taupo - 610 sq km

Total water withdrawal

municipal: 810 million cubic meters (2017 est.)

industrial: 1.184 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)

agricultural: 3.207 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)

Total renewable water resources

327 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)

NOTE: The information regarding New Zealand on this page is re-published from the 2022 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of New Zealand 2022 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about New Zealand 2022 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.