Browse a full set of economic indicators

New Zealand

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
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
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

Inflation & Debt

Inflation 2015: 0.3%
2016: 0.6%
2017: 1.9%
2018*: 1.6%
2019*: 1.4%

*Estimate
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)
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)
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

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.)
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
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

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