East Asia & Pacific · OECD
Data checked 28 Oct 2026 · next scheduled check 1 Jan 2027 · UN World Population Prospects (via World Bank) released 1 Jul 2026 · World Bank WDI released 8 Oct 2026
Total spending · 2024
41.9%
+0.2 pts since 1995
Welfare · 2024
12.3%
-0.0 pts since 2009
Healthcare · 2024
Not available
Defence · 2024
1.16%
-0.7 pts since 1995
Education · 2024
Not available
Debt interest · 2024
Not available
Gross debt · 2025
54.7%
of GDP · +11 pts since 1995
Population · 2025
5.3m
45.0% since 1995
Public-sector employment
Not available: no official public-sector employment series is loaded for New Zealand yet.
Not available: COFOG debt transactions (01.7). No matching official observation was found in the sources checked; narrower-sector or differently defined figures are not substituted.
Welfare fell from 12.3% to 10.1% of GDP between 2009 and 2018, then rose to 12.6% by 2025.
Healthcare rose from 5.6% to 7.9% of GDP between 2000 and 2023.
Defence fell from 1.8% to 1.1% of GDP between 1995 and 2025.
Education rose from 5.7% to 6.6% of GDP between 1995 and 1999, then fell to 5.2% by 2023.
Total spending fell from 41.6% to 35.6% of GDP between 1995 and 2017, then rose to 41.9% by 2024.
Gross debt fell from 43.5% to 16.3% of GDP between 1995 and 2007, then rose to 54.7% by 2025.
Population grew from 3.7 million in 1995 to 5.3 million in 2025; the UN projects 5.8 million by 2050.