Overview

New Zealand is a small open economy. Following a comprehensive reform programme that began in the mid-1980s, the government has transformed New Zealand from an agrarian economy dependent on concessionary British market access to a more industrialized, free market economy that can compete internationally. The production base has diversified to include a range of elaborately transformed manufactures, while maintaining a large agriculture sector, which accounts for 70% of exports. Services account for over two thirds of New Zealand’s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP), while manufacturing accounts for 12%. In 2012, New Zealand’s main merchandise export markets were Australia (21.4%), China (14.9%), and the United States (9.2%). New Zealand’s main sources of merchandise imports were China (16.3%), Australia (15.3%), and the United States (9.2%).