Government health spending as a share of GDP in New Zealand
New Zealand: Government health spending as a share of GDP was 7.8% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
7.8%
Change on year
down 2.9%
World rank
17th
of 59 countries
All-time high
8.6%
in 2022
All-time low
0.2%
in 1880
Years of data
72
1880–2025
Government health spending as a share of GDP in New Zealand, 1880–2025
Source: OECD (2026); OECD (1993); Lindert (1994) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
The most recent figure for government health spending as a share of gdp in New Zealand is 7.8%, measured in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 2.9% on the previous year and up 11.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, government health spending as a share of gdp in New Zealand peaked at 8.6% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 0.2%, in 1880.
New Zealand ranks 17th of 59 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 72 years of available data.
Government health spending as a share of GDP in New Zealand, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1880 | 0.2% | — |
| 1890 | 0.4% | +129.4% |
| 1900 | 0.5% | +30.8% |
| 1910 | 0.7% | +41.2% |
| 1920 | 1.1% | +48.6% |
| 1930 | 1.1% | +5.6% |
| 1960 | 3.5% | +206.1% |
| 1961 | 3.6% | +4.9% |
| 1962 | 3.6% | +0.2% |
| 1963 | 3.6% | -2.3% |
| 1964 | 3.6% | +0.5% |
| 1965 | 3.7% | +2.4% |
| 1966 | 3.9% | +5.4% |
| 1967 | 3.9% | -0.1% |
| 1968 | 3.9% | +0.7% |
| 1969 | 3.9% | +0.3% |
| 1970 | 4.2% | +6.8% |
| 1971 | 3.8% | -8.0% |
| 1972 | 4.0% | +4.1% |
| 1973 | 4.0% | -0.3% |
| 1974 | 4.4% | +11.7% |
| 1975 | 4.8% | +8.6% |
| 1976 | 4.5% | -5.8% |
| 1977 | 4.8% | +6.6% |
| 1978 | 5.2% | +7.7% |
| 1979 | 5.3% | +1.8% |
| 1980 | 5.0% | -4.7% |
| 1981 | 5.4% | +6.7% |
| 1982 | 5.1% | -5.2% |
| 1983 | 5.0% | -2.0% |
| 1984 | 4.7% | -6.7% |
| 1985 | 4.3% | -8.1% |
| 1986 | 4.3% | +1.2% |
| 1987 | 4.9% | +11.8% |
| 1988 | 5.2% | +8.0% |
| 1989 | 5.4% | +2.6% |
| 1990 | 5.5% | +2.0% |
| 1991 | 5.8% | +6.3% |
| 1992 | 5.7% | -2.2% |
| 1993 | 5.3% | -7.1% |
| 1994 | 5.4% | +1.3% |
| 1995 | 5.4% | -0.2% |
| 1996 | 5.3% | -1.5% |
| 1997 | 5.5% | +3.8% |
| 1998 | 5.8% | +5.5% |
| 1999 | 5.7% | -1.0% |
| 2000 | 5.8% | +1.7% |
| 2001 | 5.8% | -0.6% |
| 2002 | 6.2% | +6.3% |
| 2003 | 6.0% | -1.7% |
| 2004 | 6.3% | +4.0% |
| 2005 | 6.6% | +4.8% |
| 2006 | 6.9% | +4.9% |
| 2007 | 6.9% | -0.8% |
| 2008 | 7.0% | +2.5% |
| 2009 | 7.4% | +5.5% |
| 2010 | 7.4% | -0.6% |
| 2011 | 7.4% | -0.1% |
| 2012 | 7.4% | +0.7% |
| 2013 | 7.2% | -3.2% |
| 2014 | 7.1% | -0.9% |
| 2015 | 7.0% | -2.1% |
| 2016 | 6.8% | -2.6% |
| 2017 | 6.7% | -1.5% |
| 2018 | 6.6% | -0.8% |
| 2019 | 6.7% | +0.6% |
| 2020 | 7.2% | +8.4% |
| 2021 | 7.6% | +4.4% |
| 2022 | 8.6% | +14.5% |
| 2023 | 8.1% | -6.1% |
| 2024 | 8.0% | -1.6% |
| 2025 | 7.8% | -2.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 1 |
| 1890s | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.4% | 1 |
| 1900s | 0.5% | 0.5% | 0.5% | 1 |
| 1910s | 0.7% | 0.7% | 0.7% | 1 |
| 1920s | 1.1% | 1.1% | 1.1% | 1 |
| 1930s | 1.1% | 1.1% | 1.1% | 1 |
| 1960s | 3.7% | 3.5% | 3.9% | 10 |
| 1970s | 4.5% | 3.8% | 5.3% | 10 |
| 1980s | 4.9% | 4.3% | 5.4% | 10 |
| 1990s | 5.5% | 5.3% | 5.8% | 10 |
| 2000s | 6.5% | 5.8% | 7.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 7.0% | 6.6% | 7.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 7.9% | 7.2% | 8.6% | 6 |
Countries ranked near New Zealand
More health data for New Zealand
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -2.94 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate -0.4815 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,116 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 33 deaths (2100)
- Population ages 50-54, male, annual growth rate -1.48 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 50-54, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 50-54, male, per capita 0.0305 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 55-59, female, annual growth rate 0.6838 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 55-59, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 55-59, female, per capita 0.0314 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is government health spending as a share of gdp in New Zealand?
- Government health spending as a share of gdp in New Zealand was 7.8% in 2025, according to OECD (2026); OECD (1993); Lindert (1994) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest government health spending as a share of gdp recorded in New Zealand?
- The highest recorded value was 8.6% in 2022.
- What is the lowest government health spending as a share of gdp recorded in New Zealand?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.2% in 1880.
- How does New Zealand rank for government health spending as a share of gdp?
- New Zealand ranks 17th out of 59 countries with data for 2025.
- Is government health spending as a share of gdp rising or falling in New Zealand?
- Over the last ten years it is up 11.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this New Zealand data come from?
- The figures come from OECD (2026); OECD (1993); Lindert (1994) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Government health spending as a share of GDP. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
Public health expenditure divided by gross domestic product, expressed as a percentage.