Countries · Australasia
New Zealand
New Zealand is a small, open economy that relies on foreign investment to finance a persistent current account deficit.
At a glance
Net inflows of foreign direct investment were $3.39bn in 2025, against an average of $3.59bn a year in 2015–2024. Investors based in New Zealand put a net $0.04bn into direct investment abroad in the same year, less than New Zealand received. Foreign investors were net buyers of $3.42bn of shares in New Zealand in 2025. New Zealand ran a current account deficit in every year shown, which means it relied on money from abroad. Investors in New Zealand held $17.4bn of US Treasury securities at the end of August 2026, +$2.6bn on a year earlier, and $59.2bn of US shares.
Agriculture, especially dairy, and tourism are the main sources of export earnings. New Zealand's KiwiSaver funds and the New Zealand Superannuation Fund invest widely abroad.
New Zealand's holdings of US securities
Treasuries, shares and bonds issued in the US and held by investors in New Zealand.
Holdings of US securities
End of month, Aug 2025 to Aug 2026, $bn.
Net purchases of long-term US securities
Each month, $bn. Positive means net buying.
The US Treasury records holdings by the country where securities are held in custody, which is not always the owner's country. Why this matters.
Direct and equity investment
Annual net flows, $bn. Direct investment means building or buying businesses; portfolio equity means buying listed shares and fund units.
Net flows by year
Direct investment into and out of New Zealand, and foreign buying of its shares, $bn.
Current account and reserves
The balance of trade and income with the rest of the world, and the reserves held by the central bank.
Current account balance
Each year, $bn. A surplus means the country lends to the rest of the world.
Foreign exchange reserves, including gold
End of year, $bn.
The economy
GDP
Current US dollars, $bn. Dollar figures also move with exchange rates.
Growth and inflation
Real GDP growth and consumer price inflation, per cent.
All figures
Annual figures from the World Bank, as published. Download them for every country on the data page.
| Indicator | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population (m) | 4.61 | 4.71 | 4.81 | 4.90 | 4.97 | 5.07 | 5.08 | 5.08 | 5.20 | 5.29 | 5.32 |
| GDP ($bn) | 178.1 | 189.0 | 206.6 | 211.7 | 213.1 | 213.3 | 253.7 | 249.7 | 256.4 | 261.5 | 264.1 |
| GDP per person ($) | 38,649 | 40,088 | 42,912 | 43,204 | 42,872 | 42,055 | 49,902 | 49,142 | 49,302 | 49,432 | 49,591 |
| Real GDP growth (%) | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 2.3 | −0.2 | 4.3 | 3.3 | 1.8 | −0.9 | 0.5 |
| Inflation (%) | 0.3 | 0.6 | 1.9 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 3.9 | 7.2 | 5.7 | 2.9 | 2.8 |
| Current account ($bn) | −4.66 | −4.07 | −6.03 | −8.82 | −6.01 | −2.31 | −14.33 | −21.85 | −15.77 | −12.11 | −9.36 |
| Current account (% GDP) | −2.6 | −2.2 | −2.9 | −4.2 | −2.8 | −1.1 | −5.6 | −8.8 | −6.1 | −4.6 | −3.5 |
| Reserves incl. gold ($bn) | 14.7 | 17.8 | 20.7 | 17.7 | 17.8 | 13.7 | 16.1 | 14.4 | 15.5 | 22.1 | 28.2 |
| Direct investment in ($bn) | −0.07 | 2.01 | 2.39 | 2.46 | 3.07 | 4.80 | 5.30 | 9.81 | 4.39 | 1.76 | 3.39 |
| Direct investment out ($bn) | −0.02 | −0.76 | −0.08 | 0.64 | −1.56 | 0.88 | −0.87 | 0.68 | −0.46 | 0.88 | 0.04 |
| Portfolio equity in ($bn) | 2.45 | 1.74 | 0.55 | 1.87 | −0.24 | 1.42 | −0.39 | 1.38 | 1.16 | 4.70 | 3.42 |
| Remittances ($bn) | 0.53 | 0.53 | 0.54 | 0.51 | 0.47 | 0.43 | 0.46 | 0.41 | — | — | — |
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