Economy of New Zealand

Economy of New Zealand
Auckland's central business district
CurrencyNew Zealand dollar (NZD, NZ$)
1 July – 30 June[1]
Trade organisations
APEC, CPTPP, RCEP, WTO and OECD
Country group
Statistics
Population5,338,500 (June 2024 estimate)[4]
GDP
  • Increase US$249 billion (nominal, 2023)[5]
  • Increase US$279 billion (PPP, 2023)[5]
GDP rank
GDP growth
  • Increase 2.4% (2022)[6]
  • Increase 1.1% (2023f)[6]
  • Increase 0.8% (2024f)[6]
GDP per capita
GDP by sector
  • Agriculture: 7%
  • Industry: 19%
  • Services: 65%
  • (2018)[7]
2.2% (September 2024 Q)[8]
Population below poverty line
11.0% (relative, 2014)[9]
33.9 medium (2019)[10]
Labour force
  • Increase 2.820 million (Q2 2022)[12]
  • Decrease 68.5% employment rate (Q2 2022)[12]
  • Decrease 70.8% labour force participation rate (Q2 2022)[12]
Labour force by occupation
Unemployment
  • Negative increase 3.3% (Q2 2022)[12]
  • Negative increase 96 thousand (Q2 2022)[12]
Average gross salary
NZ$5,882 / $3,456 monthly[14] (2022)
NZ$4,698 / $2,759 monthly[15][16] (2022)
Main industries
Food processing, Agriculture, Forestry, Wool, Tourism, Financial Services
External
Exports$72.8 billion (FY 2022/23)[17]
Export goods
Dairy products, meat, logs and wood products, fruit, wine, machinery and equipment, fish and seafood
Main export partners
Imports$88.8 billion (FY 2022/23)[17]
Import goods
Petroleum, vehicles, machinery and equipment, electronics, textiles, plastics
Main import partners
FDI stock
  • Increase $84.19 billion (31 December 2017 est.)[13]
  • Abroad: Decrease $16.74 billion (31 December 2016 est.)[13]
Decrease −$5.471 billion (2017 est.)[13]
NZ$156.181 billion (53% of GDP) (December 2018)[18] NZ$86.342 billion (30.5% of GDP) (Feb 2018)[19]
Public finances
Positive decrease 31.7% of GDP (2017 est.)[13]
+1.6% (of GDP) (2017 est.)[13]
Revenues74.11 billion (2017 est.)[13]
Expenses70.97 billion (2017 est.)[13]
Economic aidAs donor: $99.7 million (FY99/00)
Decrease $10.02 billion (June 2023 est.)[22]
All values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars.


The economy of New Zealand is a highly developed free-market economy.[23] It is the 52nd-largest national economy in the world when measured by nominal gross domestic product (GDP) and the 63rd-largest in the world when measured by purchasing power parity (PPP). New Zealand has one of the most globalised economies and depends greatly on international trade, mainly with China, Australia, the European Union, the United States, and Japan. New Zealand's 1983 Closer Economic Relations agreement with Australia means that the economy aligns closely with that of Australia. Among OECD nations, New Zealand has a highly efficient and strong social security system; social expenditure stood at roughly 19.4% of GDP.[24][25][26]

Economy of New Zealand by sector and organisation type

New Zealand's diverse economy is made up of various types of informal and formal organisations, divided between the public and private sectors. It has a sizeable service sector, accounting for 73% of all GDP activity as of 2024.[27] As a large island nation New Zealand has abundant natural resources and mineral wealth.[28] Prominent manufacturing industries include aluminium production, food processing, metal fabrication, wood and paper products. Goods-producing industries accounted for 20% of GDP as of 2024.[27] The primary sector continues to dominate New Zealand's exports, despite accounting for only 7% of GDP as of 2024.[27] The information technology sector is growing rapidly.[29]

The major capital market is the New Zealand Exchange (NZX). As of February 2023, NZX had a total of 338 listed securities, equity, debt and funds with a combined market capitalisation of NZD $226 billion.[30] New Zealand's currency, the New Zealand dollar, also circulates in four Pacific Island territories. The New Zealand dollar is the 10th-most traded currency in the world.[31]

  1. ^ "Year End Financial Statements". NZ Treasury. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  2. ^ "World Economic Outlook Database, April 2019". IMF.org. International Monetary Fund. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  3. ^ "World Bank Country and Lending Groups". datahelpdesk.worldbank.org. World Bank. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  4. ^ "Aotearoa Data Explorer". Statistics New Zealand. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d "World Economic Outlook Database, October 2023 Edition. (NZ)". International Monetary Fund. 10 October 2023. Archived from the original on 19 October 2023. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  6. ^ a b c "The outlook is uncertain again amid financial sector turmoil, high inflation, ongoing effects of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and three years of COVID". International Monetary Fund. 11 April 2023.
  7. ^ "Which industries contributed to New Zealand's GDP? | Stats NZWhich industries contributed to New Zealand's GDP? (2018)". www.stats.govt.nz. Stats NZ. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  8. ^ "Inflation". Reserve Bank of New Zealand. 17 July 2024.
  9. ^ "Relative poverty rate at 50% of the median household income in OECD countries".
  10. ^ "Household income and housing-cost statistics: Year ended June 2019". Statistics New Zealand. Table 9. Archived from the original (Spreadsheet) on 24 February 2020. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
  11. ^ a b "Human Development Report 2023/24" (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. 13 March 2024. p. 288. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  12. ^ a b c d e "Labour market statistics: June 2022 quarter | Stats NZ". www.stats.govt.nz. Stats NZ. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h "The World Factbook". CIA.gov. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  14. ^ "Home".
  15. ^ "Taxing Wages 2023: Indexation of Labour Taxation and Benefits in OECD Countries | READ online".
  16. ^ "Home".
  17. ^ a b c d "Overseas merchandise trade: June 2023". Stats NZ. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  18. ^ "Balance of Payments and International Investment Position – M7". Statistics New Zealand. Reserve Bank of New Zealand. 19 December 2018. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
  19. ^ "Financial Statements of the Government of New Zealand for the eight months ended 28 February 2018". New Zealand Treasury. 8 April 2018. Retrieved 17 February 2019.
  20. ^ "Sovereigns rating list". Standard & Poor's. Retrieved 26 May 2011.
  21. ^ a b c Rogers, Simon; Sedghi, Ami (15 April 2011). "How Fitch, Moody's and S&P rate each country's credit rating". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 31 May 2011.
  22. ^ "New Zealand Foreign Exchange Reserves, 2005–2023 | CEIC Data". www.ceicdata.com. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
  23. ^ Hall, Peter A.; Soskice, David (2001). Varieties of Capitalism: The Institutional Foundations of Comparative Advantage. Oxford University Press. p. 570. ISBN 978-0191647703.
  24. ^ Kenworthy, Lane (1999). "Do Social-Welfare Policies Reduce Poverty? A Cross-National Assessment" (PDF). Social Forces. 77 (3): 1119–1139. doi:10.2307/3005973. JSTOR 3005973. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 August 2013.
  25. ^ Moller, Stephanie; Huber, Evelyne; Stephens, John D.; Bradley, David; Nielsen, François (2003). "Determinants of Relative Poverty in Advanced Capitalist Democracies". American Sociological Review. 68 (1): 22–51. doi:10.2307/3088901. JSTOR 3088901.
  26. ^ "Social Expenditure – Aggregated data". Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
  27. ^ a b c "Gross domestic product: June 2024 quarter". Statistics New Zealand. June 2024. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
  28. ^ Minerals, New Zealand Petroleum and. "Mineral resources potential". New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
  29. ^ "NZ Tech – About the Tech Sector". Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  30. ^ "1. NZX Annual Report 2022 (including audited financial statements)" (PDF). NZX. 23 February 2023. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
  31. ^ "Triennial Central Bank Survey, April 2013" (PDF). Triennial Central Bank Survey. Bank for International Settlements. Retrieved 25 March 2014. [pg.10 of PDF]