Media release: Strong society, mid-table economy: New Zealand by Comparison
Wellington (Wednesday, 22 July 2026) – Two weeks ago, New Zealand by Numbers asked whether New Zealand was improving. A new report from The New Zealand Initiative asks a harder question: is it keeping up?
New Zealand by Comparison, released today and edited by Dr Oliver Hartwich and Dr Bryce Wilkinson, measures New Zealand against 28 other countries across more than a hundred indicators, from work and prosperity to health, institutions and the environment.
Among this group, New Zealand ranks first for labour force participation, second for economic freedom, fourth for honesty in government and eighth for life satisfaction, ahead of Germany, Britain and the United States.
“New Zealand remains a remarkably successful society,” said Dr Hartwich, the Initiative’s Executive Director. “Trust, clean institutions and willing workers are hard-won advantages. They deserve full weight in any fair comparison.”
The economic rankings sit much lower. New Zealand ranks 20th out of 29 for productivity, 22nd for trade openness and 26th for economic complexity. In the OECD’s 2024 figures, South Korea’s average wage, adjusted for purchasing power, was US$60,900, just above New Zealand’s US$60,500. South Korea’s real wage has doubled in a generation.
“The troubling pattern is that New Zealand’s society and institutions consistently outrank its economy,” Dr Hartwich said. “We are not short of effort. We are failing to turn that effort into enough value.”
On some measures, New Zealand keeps uncomfortable company. In the 2024 WHO/UNICEF series used in the report, New Zealand’s first-dose measles coverage was 89%. India achieved higher coverage despite spending a fraction as much per person on health.
“Some of the social strengths we rely on are already weakening, while the reforms needed to lift the economy remain undone,” Dr Hartwich said. “Our choices today will determine our future rankings.”
The report New Zealand by Comparison is available on The New Zealand Initiative website.
Together with New Zealand by Numbers, published earlier this month, it completes a two-volume statistical portrait of New Zealand.
ENDS