Independent rankings built from public data — every figure traceable to the body that published it.

Photo: Karora derivative work: Inkey · Public domain · via Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale
Topic 02 of 12 · Country Index 2026
What does an economy do for the people inside it?
New Zealand is placed 32nd of 150 countries on economy & innovation in the Country Index 2026, from 3 of its 3 key statistics. Readings behind it: GDP per Capita (PPP) 48,233 (2025); Economic Complexity Index 0.523 (2024).
Economy & Innovation
32nd
of 150 countries placed
Placed from 3 of 3 key statistics
01The evidence
Only these place New Zealand on economy & innovation — one vote each. Every value is the publisher’s own, read at the edition the Country Index 2026 used; the grey ticks are every other country in that edition, lowest on the left.
Key 1 of 3
World Bank Group
Why it is a key: Output per person: the standard measure of an economy's size set against the population it has to support.
2025 edition · data for 2025 · CC BY 4.0
48,233
GDP per capita (constant 2021 international $, PPP)
Higher is better
New Zealand: 48,233. Across the 185 countries in this edition, values run from 1,067 (Burundi) to 139,593 (Singapore); the world median is 17,265.
Each grey tick is one of 185 countries in the 2025 edition.
Key 2 of 3
Growth Lab at Harvard University
Why it is a key: What an economy knows how to make, read from the diversity and rarity of what it exports.
2024 edition · data for 2024 · CC0 1.0
0.523
ECI score (standardised, roughly −3 to +3)
Higher is better
Ranked 49th of 145 by Growth Lab at Harvard University
New Zealand: 0.523. Across the 145 countries in this edition, values run from -3.53 (Chad) to 1.729 (Japan); the world median is 0.131.
Each grey tick is one of 145 countries in the 2024 edition.
Key 3 of 3
World Bank Group
Why it is a key: Whether ordinary adults are inside the financial system at all, which output per person does not reveal.
2024 edition · data for 2024 · CC BY 4.0
97.86
Adults with an account (% of population aged 15+)
Higher is better
New Zealand: 97.86. Across the 139 countries in this edition, values run from 14.83 (Niger) to 99.85 (Iceland); the world median is 72.83.
Each grey tick is one of 139 countries in the 2024 edition.
02Over time
Each key’s published value, edition by edition, beside the world median. The Country Index 2026 is the first edition of the standing, so the standing itself has no history to chart yet.
GDP per capita (constant 2021 international $, PPP) · higher is better
New ZealandWorld median
New Zealand rose from 35,985 in 2000 to 48,233 in 2025; the world median went from 10,589 to 17,265.
| Year | New Zealand | World median |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 48,233 | 17,265 |
| 2024 | 48,325 | 18,108 |
| 2023 | 49,593 | 17,686 |
| 2022 | 49,843 | 16,933 |
| 2021 | 48,202 | 16,260 |
| 2020 | 46,326 | 15,631 |
| 2019 | 47,392 | 16,761 |
| 2018 | 46,975 | 16,349 |
| 2017 | 46,286 | 16,129 |
| 2016 | 45,746 | 15,512 |
| 2015 | 45,097 | 14,857 |
| 2014 | 44,370 | 14,475 |
| 2013 | 43,453 | 14,681 |
| 2012 | 42,693 | 14,631 |
| 2011 | 41,962 | 13,916 |
| 2010 | 41,395 | 14,101 |
| 2009 | 41,251 | 13,655 |
| 2008 | 41,682 | 14,030 |
| 2007 | 42,473 | 13,755 |
| 2006 | 41,597 | 12,983 |
| 2005 | 40,970 | 12,023 |
| 2004 | 40,091 | 11,608 |
| 2003 | 39,092 | 11,183 |
| 2002 | 38,072 | 11,144 |
| 2001 | 36,995 | 10,907 |
| 2000 | 35,985 | 10,589 |
ECI score (standardised, roughly −3 to +3) · higher is better
New ZealandWorld median
New Zealand fell from 0.623 in 2000 to 0.523 in 2024; the world median went from 0.016 to 0.131.
| Year | New Zealand | World median |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 0.523 | 0.1310 |
| 2023 | 0.473 | 0.0710 |
| 2022 | 0.485 | 0.0580 |
| 2021 | 0.439 | 0.0010 |
| 2020 | 0.429 | 0.0470 |
| 2019 | 0.472 | 0.0300 |
| 2018 | 0.460 | -0.0150 |
| 2017 | 0.484 | 0.0080 |
| 2016 | 0.477 | -0.0660 |
| 2015 | 0.504 | -0.0600 |
| 2014 | 0.529 | -0.0190 |
| 2013 | 0.557 | 0.0140 |
| 2012 | 0.577 | 0.0060 |
| 2011 | 0.565 | -0.0140 |
| 2010 | 0.532 | -0.0020 |
| 2009 | 0.540 | 0.0990 |
| 2008 | 0.620 | 0.0700 |
| 2007 | 0.580 | -0.0080 |
| 2006 | 0.640 | 0.0740 |
| 2005 | 0.623 | 0.0510 |
| 2004 | 0.597 | 0.0505 |
| 2003 | 0.615 | 0.0450 |
| 2002 | 0.604 | 0.0100 |
| 2001 | 0.610 | 0.0470 |
| 2000 | 0.623 | 0.0160 |
Adults with an account (% of population aged 15+) · higher is better
New ZealandWorld median
New Zealand fell from 99.44 in 2011 to 97.86 in 2024; the world median went from 37.03 to 72.83.
| Year | New Zealand | World median |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 97.9 | 73 |
| 2021 | 98.8 | 74 |
| 2017 | 99.2 | 59 |
| 2014 | 99.5 | 52 |
| 2011 | 99.4 | 37 |
03In context
A position reads best beside the countries around it. Every position below is a place among all 150 countries on economy & innovation, never a place within the region.
New Zealand has no land border, so the table compares it with its sub-region. The standing is each country’s place among all 150 placed on the topic; the other columns are the publishers’ own values, read at the edition the standing used.
| Country | Standing | GDP per Capita (PPP)GDP per capita (constant 2021 international $, PPP) | Economic Complexity IndexECI score (standardised, roughly −3 to +3) | Account Ownership at a Financial InstitutionAdults with an account (% of population aged 15+) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 32nd | 48,233 | 0.523 | 97.86 | |
| 37th | 60,194 | 0.131 | 98.01 |
“—” means the publisher gives no reading for that country in that edition. A country needs readings on enough keys to be placed.
Every country in the sub-region, by its place among all 150.
The countries immediately above and below New Zealand in the topic’s list.
04Context, no vote
25 more statistics filed under economy & innovation, published in full and deliberately given no vote in the standing. Select a row for the publisher, the rank and the links.
Statistics on which New Zealand does better than the middle country measured.
New Zealand: 1.844 · world median -0.09 · Regulatory Quality (−2.5 to 2.5). World Bank Group, 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from -2.035 to 2.132; higher is better.
Position 4th of 209 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
New Zealand: 8,489 · world median 3,072 · Cereal yield (kg per hectare). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 23 to 29,147; higher is better.
Position 8th of 179 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
New Zealand: 79.6 · world median 63.8 · Trilemma score (0–100). World Energy Council, 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 27.7 to 83.2; higher is better.
Ranked 9th of 99 by World Energy Council.
New Zealand: 76.39 · world median 65.82 · Operational efficiency score (0–100). World Bank Group, 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 40.36 to 87.33; higher is better.
Position 6th of 50 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
New Zealand: 68.91 · world median 50.13 · Public services score (0–100). World Bank Group, 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 18.35 to 73.31; higher is better.
Position 6th of 50 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
New Zealand: 0.853 · world median 0.609 · IHDI (0–1). UNDP Human Development Report Office, 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0.226 to 0.923; higher is better.
Position 19th of 169 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
New Zealand: 45.49 · world median 28.52 · GII score (0–100). World Intellectual Property Organization, 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 11.94 to 65.96; higher is better.
Ranked 26th of 139 by World Intellectual Property Organization.
New Zealand: 62.7 · world median 40.19 · AI readiness score (0–100). Oxford Insights, 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 12.12 to 88.36; higher is better.
Ranked 37th of 195 by Oxford Insights.
New Zealand: 3.6 · world median 2.9 · LPI score (1–5). World Bank Group, 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 1.9 to 4.3; higher is better.
Ranked 26th of 139 by World Bank Group.
New Zealand: 1.548 · world median 0.814 · Gross domestic expenditure on R&D (% of GDP). UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0.006 to 6.346; higher is better.
Position 26th of 84 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
New Zealand: 88.24 · world median 56.21 · LSCI (index, average Q1 2023 = 100). UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD), 2026 edition, data for 2026.
Published values in that edition run from 4.13 to 1,319; higher is better.
Ranked 61st of 175 by UNCTAD.
New Zealand: 108.2 · world median 106.23 · Crop production index (2014–2016 = 100). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2022 edition, data for 2022.
Published values in that edition run from 53.79 to 189.93; higher is better.
Position 80th of 195 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
New Zealand: 9.862 · world median 8.389 · Adjusted net savings, including particulate emission damage (% of GNI). World Bank Group, 2021 edition, data for 2021.
Published values in that edition run from -81.62 to 32.18; higher is better.
Position 51st of 118 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
New Zealand: 67.51 · world median 66.8 · Regulatory framework score (0–100). World Bank Group, 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 46.21 to 78.34; higher is better.
Position 23rd of 50 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
New Zealand: 1.23 · world median 0.975 · ICT goods exports (% of total goods exports). UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD), 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 61.45; higher is better.
Position 57th of 119 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Statistics on which New Zealand does worse than the middle country measured.
New Zealand: 100.57 · world median 106.08 · Food production index (2014–2016 = 100). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2022 edition, data for 2022.
Published values in that edition run from 71.08 to 177.49; higher is better.
Position 134th of 195 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
New Zealand: 99 · world median 107.06 · Livestock production index (2014–2016 = 100). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2022 edition, data for 2022.
Published values in that edition run from 35.52 to 190.08; higher is better.
Position 146th of 194 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
New Zealand: 0.463 · world median 3.396 · GDP growth (annual %). World Bank Group, 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from -5.847 to 19.34; higher is better.
Position 172nd of 186 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
These describe the shape of a country — more is not better or worse, only different — so they are never ahead or behind.
New Zealand: 1,291 · world median 87.36 · Fertilizer consumption (kg per hectare of arable land). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 2,926.
Position 3rd of 188 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
New Zealand: 1.17 · world median 0.535 · Livestock units per hectare of agricultural land. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0.02 to 43.97.
Position 40th of 188 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
New Zealand: 3,371,175 · world median 1,827,788 · Container port traffic (TEU, twenty-foot equivalent units). UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD), 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 17,263 to 299,703,800.
Position 39th of 103 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
New Zealand: 9.252 · world median 7.975 · Public sector wage bill (% of GDP). World Bank Group, 2022 edition, data for 2022.
Published values in that edition run from 0.977 to 42.65.
Position 64th of 168 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
New Zealand: 1.494 · world median 1.708 · Natural resources rents (% of GDP). World Bank Group, 2021 edition, data for 2021.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 61.03.
Position 101st of 180 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
New Zealand: 36.88 · world median 37.96 · Agricultural land (% of land area). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0.445 to 86.48.
Position 108th of 209 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
New Zealand: 18.95 · world median 22.06 · Gross savings (% of GDP). World Bank Group, 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from -21.13 to 47.82.
Position 94th of 146 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
No current reading for New Zealand
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing Value Added (% of GDP) (last 2023), Debt Service on External Debt, Exports of Goods and Services (% of GDP) (last 2024), External Debt Stocks (% of GNI), General Government Consumption (last 2024), Gini Index, GNI per Capita (PPP) (last 2024), Gross Capital Formation (% of GDP) (last 2024), Household Consumption (last 2024), Imports of Goods and Services (% of GDP) (last 2024), Income Share Held by Lowest 20%, Industry Value Added including Construction (% of GDP) (last 2023), Manufacturing Value Added (% of GDP) (last 2023), Net Official Development Assistance Received, Poverty Gap at $3.00 a Day, Poverty Headcount Ratio at $3.00 a Day, Poverty Headcount Ratio at $8.30 a Day, Prosperity Gap and Trade (% of GDP) (last 2024). Listed rather than hidden, so the page can be checked against it.
05Country Index 2026
Economy & Innovation is New Zealand’s 8th best-placed topic of 12. Strongest first; each marker sits at the position divided by that topic’s field, so fields of different sizes compare fairly.
06The top of the list
The three countries placed highest of 150, and the leaders New Zealand can most readily be measured against.
1Iceland
Northern Europe
1st of 150 · 2 of 3 keys
Photo: Hansueli Krapf · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale
2Switzerland
Western Europe
2nd of 150 · 3 of 3 keys
Photo: Simon Koopmann derivative work: Jjtkk · CC BY-SA 2.0 de, greyscale
3Austria
Western Europe
3rd of 150 · 3 of 3 keys
Photo: chensiyuan · CC BY-SA 4.0, greyscale
Highest in Oceania
Positions out of 150 placed on the topic. A country needs readings on enough keys to be placed, and the top of the list is often held on fewer of them.
07Analysis

On economy & innovation
The world’s ten largest high-technology exporters as a treemap, with the rest of the world beside them. Each country’s figure is its own most recent year, between 2022 and 2024.

On economy & innovation
India and Pakistan on six published measures: hunger, happiness, human development, rule of law, literacy and GDP per capita. India is the better placed on five of them; Pakistan on one.

On economy & innovation
Thirteen Asian countries by gross average monthly wage, each carrying its WORLD rank rather than an Asian one — so the numbers skip, from 11th place to 45th.
08Questions
Every answer is built from the numbers on this page, so none can say something the page does not.
New Zealand is placed 32nd of 150 countries on Economy & Innovation in the Country Index 2026, from 3 of its 3 key statistics (GDP per Capita (PPP), Economic Complexity Index and Account Ownership at a Financial Institution). The position is this site’s ordering of published statistics, not a rank any publisher printed.
48,233 in 2025 (gDP per capita (constant 2021 international $, PPP)), according to World Bank Group. The world median in the same edition was 17,265.
0.523 in 2024 (eCI score (standardised, roughly −3 to +3)), according to Growth Lab at Harvard University. The world median in the same edition was 0.131.
GDP per Capita (PPP) rose from 35,985 in 2000 to 48,233 in 2025; Economic Complexity Index fell from 0.623 in 2000 to 0.523 in 2024; Account Ownership at a Financial Institution fell from 99.44 in 2011 to 97.86 in 2024.
No current reading is published for New Zealand on Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing Value Added (% of GDP), Debt Service on External Debt, Exports of Goods and Services (% of GDP), External Debt Stocks (% of GNI), General Government Consumption, Gini Index, GNI per Capita (PPP), Gross Capital Formation (% of GDP), Household Consumption, Imports of Goods and Services (% of GDP), Income Share Held by Lowest 20%, Industry Value Added including Construction (% of GDP), Manufacturing Value Added (% of GDP), Net Official Development Assistance Received, Poverty Gap at $3.00 a Day, Poverty Headcount Ratio at $3.00 a Day, Poverty Headcount Ratio at $8.30 a Day, Prosperity Gap and Trade (% of GDP). They are listed rather than hidden, so the evidence on the page can be checked against it.
09Keep reading
10Method
What this topic does not measure
The total size of an economy is deliberately left out: a very large economy spread over a very large population is not doing more for each person. Growth rates, trade shares and the structure of output (how much is farming, industry or services) are published here as context, because they describe an economy's shape rather than how well it serves people. Jobs and wages have their own topic, Work & Labour.
A standing is a place in a list, not a mark out of anything. This one is part of the Country Index 2026, and it is worked out like this.
The other 25 statistics on this page come from 8 publishers, each named beside its numbers, with every edition and licence on the datasets pages.
The standing itself is part of the Country Index 2026, published under CC BY-SA 4.0.
New Zealand’s banner and the countries placed highest, from their profiles: Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale, each used under the licence named.
Nations Inquiry (2026). New Zealand: Economy & Innovation — standing and statistics, Country Index 2026. https://nationsinquiry.com/countries/new-zealand/economy