Share of electricity generation from low-carbon sources in New Zealand
New Zealand: Share of electricity generation from low-carbon sources was 88.5% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Share of electricity generation from low-carbon sources in New Zealand, 1985–2025
Source: Ember (2026) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
New Zealand recorded 88.5% for share of electricity generation from low-carbon sources in 2025.
That represents a change of up 3.0% on the previous year and up 10.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of electricity generation from low-carbon sources in New Zealand peaked at 89.6% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 63.6%, in 2001.
New Zealand ranks 28th of 213 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 41 years of available data.
Share of electricity generation from low-carbon sources in New Zealand, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 76.3% | — |
| 1986 | 82.4% | +8.0% |
| 1987 | 80.7% | -2.1% |
| 1988 | 80.6% | -0.1% |
| 1989 | 80.2% | -0.5% |
| 1990 | 80.1% | -0.0% |
| 1991 | 77.3% | -3.5% |
| 1992 | 72.8% | -5.9% |
| 1993 | 77.2% | +6.1% |
| 1994 | 82.1% | +6.5% |
| 1995 | 83.9% | +2.2% |
| 1996 | 79.2% | -5.7% |
| 1997 | 70.3% | -11.2% |
| 1998 | 75.8% | +7.9% |
| 1999 | 69.8% | -7.9% |
| 2000 | 71.8% | +2.7% |
| 2001 | 63.6% | -11.3% |
| 2002 | 69.6% | +9.4% |
| 2003 | 66.1% | -5.1% |
| 2004 | 72.4% | +9.5% |
| 2005 | 64.4% | -11.0% |
| 2006 | 64.8% | +0.6% |
| 2007 | 65.5% | +1.1% |
| 2008 | 64.2% | -1.9% |
| 2009 | 71.7% | +11.6% |
| 2010 | 73.1% | +2.0% |
| 2011 | 76.0% | +3.9% |
| 2012 | 71.7% | -5.6% |
| 2013 | 74.2% | +3.4% |
| 2014 | 79.1% | +6.6% |
| 2015 | 80.1% | +1.2% |
| 2016 | 84.3% | +5.3% |
| 2017 | 81.2% | -3.7% |
| 2018 | 83.4% | +2.7% |
| 2019 | 82.4% | -1.2% |
| 2020 | 80.9% | -1.8% |
| 2021 | 81.7% | +1.0% |
| 2022 | 86.9% | +6.4% |
| 2023 | 89.6% | +3.1% |
| 2024 | 86.0% | -4.1% |
| 2025 | 88.5% | +3.0% |
New Zealand compared with similar countries
- New Zealand's 88.5% is above the median for high income countries, which is 40.0%, 2.2× the median. (75 countries reporting)
- New Zealand's 88.5% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 25.0%, 3.5× the median. (32 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 80.0% | 76.3% | 82.4% | 5 |
| 1990s | 76.9% | 69.8% | 83.9% | 10 |
| 2000s | 67.4% | 63.6% | 72.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 78.6% | 71.7% | 84.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 85.6% | 80.9% | 89.6% | 6 |
Countries ranked near New Zealand
More climate change data for New Zealand
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Synthetic fertilizers (Agricultural) 113.13 million kg (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 46,323 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 11,983 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 34,340 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 45.22 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 1,226 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 694.4 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 691.2 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 3.2 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 2.61 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of electricity generation from low-carbon sources in New Zealand?
- Share of electricity generation from low-carbon sources in New Zealand was 88.5% in 2025, according to Ember (2026) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of electricity generation from low-carbon sources recorded in New Zealand?
- The highest recorded value was 89.6% in 2023.
- What is the lowest share of electricity generation from low-carbon sources recorded in New Zealand?
- The lowest recorded value was 63.6% in 2001.
- How does New Zealand rank for share of electricity generation from low-carbon sources?
- New Zealand ranks 28th out of 213 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of electricity generation from low-carbon sources rising or falling in New Zealand?
- Over the last ten years it is up 10.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this New Zealand data come from?
- The figures come from Ember (2026) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of electricity generation from low-carbon sources. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 41 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Measured as a percentage of total electricity produced in the country or region. Low-carbon sources correspond to renewables and nuclear power, that produce significantly less greenhouse-gas emissions than fossil fuels. Renewables include solar, wind, hydropower, bioenergy, geothermal, wave, and tidal.