Adjusted savings: education expenditure in New Zealand

New Zealand: Adjusted savings: education expenditure was 7.4% in 2021. ▲ Rising

Latest (2021)
7.4%
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
12th
of 200 countries
All-time high
7.4%
in 2012
All-time low
3.3%
in 1986
Years of data
52
1970–2021

Adjusted savings: education expenditure in New Zealand, 1970–2021

02468197019952021

Source: Staff estimates, World Bank (WB). Measured in % of GNI.

Analysis

New Zealand recorded 7.4% for adjusted savings: education expenditure in 2021. That is the highest value across all 52 years on record.

That represents a change of up 4.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, adjusted savings: education expenditure in New Zealand peaked at 7.4% in 2012 and was at its lowest, 3.3%, in 1986.

That places New Zealand 12th out of 200 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 52 years of available data.

Adjusted savings: education expenditure in New Zealand, year by year

Annual values for Adjusted savings: education expenditure (% of GNI) in New Zealand, 1970 to 2021.
Year % of GNI Change
1970 3.7%
1971 3.7% -1.0%
1972 4.1% +10.8%
1973 4.0% -2.4%
1974 4.0% +0.0%
1975 4.3% +7.5%
1976 4.5% +4.7%
1977 3.8% -15.6%
1978 3.9% +2.6%
1979 4.0% +2.6%
1980 3.8% -5.0%
1981 4.0% +5.3%
1982 4.1% +2.5%
1983 4.6% +12.0%
1984 3.9% -15.1%
1985 3.5% -10.3%
1986 3.3% -5.7%
1987 3.8% +15.2%
1988 4.3% +13.2%
1989 4.6% +7.0%
1990 6.6% +43.5%
1991 5.9% -10.6%
1992 6.5% +10.2%
1993 6.4% -1.5%
1994 6.1% -4.7%
1995 5.9% -3.3%
1996 6.5% +10.2%
1997 6.2% -4.6%
1998 6.9% +11.5%
1999 6.6% -4.4%
2000 6.8% +2.5%
2001 6.9% +2.4%
2002 6.7% -3.0%
2003 6.8% +0.3%
2004 6.8% +0.7%
2005 6.6% -2.6%
2006 6.3% -4.7%
2007 6.3% +0.5%
2008 5.6% -11.5%
2009 6.4% +14.8%
2010 7.0% +8.2%
2011 7.0% +0.9%
2012 7.4% +4.8%
2013 7.4% +0.0%
2014 7.4% +0.0%
2015 7.4% +0.0%
2016 7.4% +0.0%
2017 7.4% +0.0%
2018 7.4% +0.0%
2019 7.4% +0.0%
2020 7.4% +0.0%
2021 7.4% +0.0%

New Zealand compared with similar countries

  • New Zealand's 7.4% is above the median for high income countries, which is 4.4%, 1.7× the median. (74 countries reporting)
  • New Zealand's 7.4% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 3.9%, 1.9× the median. (32 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Adjusted savings: education expenditure in New Zealand changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.

YearChange FromTo
1990 +43.5% 4.6% 6.6%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 4.0% 3.7% 4.5% 10
1980s 4.0% 3.3% 4.6% 10
1990s 6.4% 5.9% 6.9% 10
2000s 6.5% 5.6% 6.9% 10
2010s 7.3% 7.0% 7.4% 10
2020s 7.4% 7.4% 7.4% 2

Countries ranked near New Zealand

  1. 9 Puerto Rico 8.6% compare
  2. 10 Guam 8.3% compare
  3. 11 Djibouti 7.8% compare
  4. 13 Saudi Arabia 7.2% compare
  5. 14 Iceland 7.2% compare
  6. 15 Sierra Leone 7.1% compare

See the full ranking of 247 places →

More economy & growth data for New Zealand

All data for New Zealand →

Frequently asked questions

What is adjusted savings: education expenditure in New Zealand?
Adjusted savings: education expenditure in New Zealand was 7.4% in 2021, according to Staff estimates, World Bank (WB).
What is the highest adjusted savings: education expenditure recorded in New Zealand?
The highest recorded value was 7.4% in 2012.
What is the lowest adjusted savings: education expenditure recorded in New Zealand?
The lowest recorded value was 3.3% in 1986.
How does New Zealand rank for adjusted savings: education expenditure?
New Zealand ranks 12th out of 200 countries with data for 2021.
Is adjusted savings: education expenditure rising or falling in New Zealand?
Over the last ten years it is up 4.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this New Zealand data come from?
The figures come from Staff estimates, World Bank (WB), published as part of Adjusted savings: education expenditure (% of GNI). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Adjusted savings: education expenditure in New Zealand. Statizoid, drawing on Staff estimates, World Bank (WB). Retrieved 14 September 2026, from https://economy.statizoid.com/stat/adjusted-savings-education-expenditure-percent-of-gni/new-zealand/

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About this data

Indicator
Adjusted savings: education expenditure (% of GNI)
Unit
% of GNI
Source
Staff estimates, World Bank (WB)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
247 places, 12,841 data points, 1970–2021
Last refreshed

Education expenditure refers to the current operating expenditures in education, including wages and salaries and excluding capital investments in buildings and equipment. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of Gross National Income (GNI) which is the total income earned by all residents within an economic territory during an accounting period. It is equal to gross domestic product plus earned income receivable from abroad minus earned income payable abroad.