Overview: Since 1984 the government has been reorienting an agrarian economy dependent on a guaranteed British market to a more industrialized, open free market economy that can compete on the global scene. The government has hoped that dynamic growth would boost real incomes, broaden and deepen the technological capabilities of the industrial sector, reduce inflationary pressures, and permit the expansion of welfare benefits. The results have been mixed: inflation is down from double-digit levels, but growth was sluggish in 1988-91. In 1992-93, growth picked up to 3% annually, a sign that the new economic approach is beginning to pay off. Business confidence has strengthened, and the inflation remains among the lowest in the industrial world. Unemployment, down from 11% in 1991, remains unacceptably high at 9%.

National product: GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $53 billion (1993)

National product real growth rate: 3% (1993)

National product per capita: $15,700 (1993)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2% (1993)

Unemployment rate: 9.1% (September 1993)

Budget:
revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
note: deficit $345 million (October 1993)

Exports: $10.3 billion (FY93)
commodities: wool, lamb, mutton, beef, fruit, fish, cheese, manufactures, chemicals, forestry products
partners: Australia 18.9%, Japan 15.1%, US 12.5%, South Korea 4.1%

Imports: $9.4 billion (FY93)
commodities: petroleum, consumer goods, motor vehicles, industrial equipment
partners: Australia 21.1%, US 19.6%, Japan 14.7%, UK 6.3%, Germany 4.2%

External debt: $35.3 billion (March 1993)

Industrial production: growth rate 1.9% (1990); accounts for about 20% of GDP

Electricity:
capacity: 8,000,000 kW
production: 31 billion kWh
consumption per capita: 9,250 kWh (1992)

Industries: food processing, wood and paper products, textiles, machinery, transportation equipment, banking and insurance, tourism, mining

Agriculture: accounts for about 9% of GDP and about 10% of the work force; livestock predominates - wool, meat, dairy products all export earners; crops - wheat, barley, potatoes, pulses, fruits, vegetables; surplus producer of farm products; fish catch reached a record 503,000 metric tons in 1988

Economic aid:
donor: ODA and OOF commitments (1970-89), $526 million

Currency: 1 New Zealand dollar (NZ$) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: New Zealand dollars (NZ$) per US$1 - 1.7771 (January 1994), 1.8495 (1993), 1.8584 (1992), 1.7265 (1991), 1.6750 (1990), 1.6711 (1989)

Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June

NOTE: The information regarding New Zealand on this page is re-published from the 1995 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of New Zealand Economy 1995 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about New Zealand Economy 1995 should be addressed to the CIA.