Includes New Zealand real Gross Domestic Product growth rate, with latest forecasts and historical data, GDP per capita, GDP composition and breakdown by sector.
Browse additional economic indicators and data sets, selected by Global Finance editors, to learn more about New Zealand economic outlook, debt to GDP ratio, international trade performance and population trends. Rankings of New Zealand best banks and safest banks are also available.
Basic Information
Government Type: Parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm
Capital City: Wellington
GDP & Economic Information
Macroeconomy & Sovereign Data
Central Bank | Reserve Bank of New Zealand |
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Currency | New Zealand dollars (NZD) |
International Reserves |
USD 17.7 billion (2018) International Monetary Fund (IMF), data retrieved October 2019 |
Gross Domestic Product – GDP | USD 203.4 billion (2018, estimate) |
GDP (Purchasing Power Parity) |
Intl$ 197.8 billion (2018, estimate) |
GDP Data
Real GDP growth |
2007: 4% 2008: -0.4% 2009: 0.3% 2010: 2% 2011: 1.9% 2012: 2.5% 2013: 2.2% 2014: 3.1% 2015: 4% 2016: 4.2% 2017*: 2.6% 2018*: 3% *Estimate |
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GDP per capita – current prices | USD 41,266.9 (2018, estimate) |
GDP per capita – PPP | Intl$ 40,135.4 (2018, estimate) |
GDP (PPP) – share of world total |
1980: 0.22% 1990: 0.19% 2000: 0.17% 2010: 0.15% 2019*: 0.15% *Estimate |
GDP – composition by sector |
agriculture: 5.7% industry: 21.5% services: 72.8% (2017 estimate) |
Gross domestic expenditure on R&D; (% of GDP) |
1.2% (2015) OECD, data retrieved October 2019 |
Inflation |
2015: 0.3% 2016: 0.6% 2017: 1.9% 2018*: 1.6% 2019*: 1.4% *Estimate |
New Zealand
Inflation & Debt
Inflation |
2015: 0.3% 2016: 0.6% 2017: 1.9% 2018*: 1.6% 2019*: 1.4% *Estimate |
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Government Bond Ratings |
Standard & Poor’s: AA Moody’s: Aaa Standard & Poor’s / Moody’s |
Unemployment rate |
2015: 5.4% 2016: 5.1% 2017: 4.7% 2018*: 4.3% 2019*: 4.3% *Estimate |
Household saving rates | -1.4% (2017) |
Public debt (General government gross debt as a % of GDP) |
2015: 34.4% 2016: 33.5% 2017: 31.6% 2018*: 29.8% 2019*: 29.6% *Estimate |
Public deficit (General government net lending/borrowing as a % of GDP) |
2015: 0.2% 2016: 0.9% 2017: 1.1% 2018*: 0.8% 2019*: 0.1% *Estimate |
Market value of publicly traded shares |
2016: USD 66 billion 2017: USD 74.4 billion 2018: USD 74.4 billion |
Largest Companies | N/A |
Import/Export
Exports as percent of GDP (Exports of goods and services) | 27.6% (2017) |
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Shares in world total merchandising export | 0.20% (2018) |
Shares in world total commercial services export | 0.29% (2018) |
Total exports | USD 56.7 billion (2018 estimate) |
Export commodities | Dairy products, meat and edible offal, logs and wood articles, fruit, crude oil, wine |
Total imports | USD 57.1 billion (2018 estimate) |
Import commodities | Petroleum and products, mechanical machinery, vehicles and parts, electrical machinery, textiles |
Exports – major partners | China 22.4%, Australia 16.4%, US 9.9%, Japan 6.1% (2017) |
Imports – major partners | China 19%, Australia 12.1%, US 10.5%, Japan 7.3%, Germany 5.3%, Thailand 4.6% (2017) |
Competitiveness & Trade
Current account balance | USD -7.8 billion (2018 estimate) |
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Current account balance by percentage of GDP | -3.8 % (2018 estimate) |
FDI inflows |
2016: USD 3,069 million 2017: USD 2,538 million 2018: USD 1,404 million |
FDI Outflows |
2016: USD 8 million 2017: USD -223 million 2018: USD 404 million |
Value of cross-border M&A, by country of purchaser |
2015: USD -3,935 million 2016: USD 289 million 2017: USD 565 million 2018: USD -854 million |
Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2014 | N/A |
Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2015 | N/A |
Best countries for doing business |
Economies are ranked on their ease of doing business. A high ease of doing business ranking means the regulatory environment is more conducive to the starting and operation of a local firm. Overall ranking: 1 out of 190 countries Starting a Business: 1 out of 190 countries Dealing with Construction Permits: 7 out of 190 countries Getting Electricity: 48 out of 190 countries Registering Property: 2 out of 190 countries Getting Credit: 1 out of 190 countries Protecting Minority Investors: 3 out of 190 countries Paying Taxes: 9 out of 190 countries Trading across Borders: 63 out of 190 countries Enforcing Contracts: 23 out of 190 countries Resolving Insolvency: 36 out of 190 countries |
Global competitiveness ranking |
19 out of 141 countries (2019) |
Index of Economic Freedom |
Ranking: 3 / Score: 84.4 (Free) (100=totally free 0=totally repressed) |
Population & Geographic Data
Time Zone |
UTC+1 |
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Total Area | 268,838 sq km |
Total Population |
1990: 3.43 million 2000: 3.87 million 2010: 4.37 million 2015: 4.65 million 2020*: 5.14 million *Estimate |
Urban population as % of total population |
1960: 76% 1980: 83.4% 2000: 86% 2018: 86.5% |
Population median age | 38.1 years |
Population growth rate | 0.77% (2018 estimate) |
Life expectancy | 81.4 years (2018 estimate) |
% of population living on less than $3.10 a day | N/A |
Inequality of wealth distribution (Gini index) | N/A |
Freedom House rating |
Free Political Rights: 1 Civil Liberties: 1 (2019) (1 represents the most free, 7 the least free rating) |
Total telephone subscribers as % of population |
Fixed: 37.1% Mobile: 134.9% (2018) (fixed-telephone subscribers and mobile-cellular subscribers) |
Internet users as % of total population | 90.81 % (2017) |
Language & Religon
Languages | English (de facto official) 95.4%, Maori (de jure official) 4%, Samoan 2.2%, Northern Chinese 2%, Hindi 1.5%, French 1.2%, Yue 1.1%, New Zealand Sign Language (de jure official) .5%, other or not stated 17.2% (2018 est.) |
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Literacy | N/A |
Religions | Christian 37.3% (Catholic 10.1%, Anglican 6.8%, Presbyterian and Congregational 5.2%, Pentecostal 1.8%, Methodist 1.6%, Mormon 1.2%, other 10.7%), Hindu 2.7%, Maori 1.3%, Muslim, 1.3%, Buddhist 1.1%, other religion 1.6% (includes Judaism, Spiritualism and |
World Rankings
Population | 5.14 M |
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Mercer Cost of living index |
Auckland: 89th Wellington: 114th (2019) |
C02 Emissions per capita | 7.69 metric tons per capita (2014) |
Global Finance Rankings & Awards: New Zealand
Global Finance Magazine holds several conferences and awards ceremonies throughout the year to recognize the winning financial institutions and companies in a host of categories including World’s Best Trade Finance Banks, World's Biggest Banks, World's Safest Banks, World's Best Developed & Emerging Markets Banks, World's Best Internet Banks, and World’s Best Investment Banks.
Data Sources:
IMF World Economic Outlook
UN World Population Prospects
World Inequality Report
S&P Global Ratings
Moody’s
Fitch Ratings
IMF Direction of Trade Statistics (DOTS)
UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
CIA The World Factbook
World Bank’s World Integrated Trade Solution
Forbes Global 2000