| New Zealand has a modern, developed economy with an estimated GDP of $97.39 billion (2005).
The country has a high standard of living with GDP per capita estimated at $24,100. The standard of living has also been measured in other forms, including being ranked 19th on the 2005 Human Development Index and 15th in The Economist's 2005 world-wide quality-of-life index.
The Tertiary sector is the largest sector in the economy and constitutes 67.6% of GDP, followed by the Secondary sector on 27.8% and the Primary sector on 4.7% (2005 estimate).
New Zealand is a country heavily dependent on trade (particularly in agricultural products) as almost 20% of the country's output is exported. This leaves New Zealand particularly vulnerable to global economic slowdowns and slumps in commodity prices. Its principal export industries are agriculture, horticulture, fishing and forestry making up about half of the countries exports. Its major export partners are Australia 22.4%, US 11.3%, Japan 11.2%, China 9.7%, Germany 5.2% (2004). This is a dramatic change from 1965 when the United Kingdom received over half of New Zealand’s exports; this ended mostly because of the UK's entry to the European Community in 1973.
Due to changing economic conditions, since 1984 successive governments have engaged in major macroeconomic restructuring, transforming New Zealand from a highly protectionist and regulated economy to a liberalised free-trade economy. Pursuant to this policy, during the late 1980s and early 1990s, the New Zealand Government sold a number of former government owned enterprises including its telecommunications company, railway network, a number of radio stations, and two financial institutions. However, the New Zealand Government continues to own a number of significant businesses, collectively known as State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs). These SOEs are operated through arms-length shareholding arrangements and are required to operate profitably, just like any other privately owned enterprise.
The current New Zealand government's economic objectives are centred on pursuing free-trade agreements and building a "knowledge economy". For example, in 2004 the government began discussing a free trade agreement with the People's Republic of China, one of the first countries to do so. |
