Total natural resource rents in New Zealand
New Zealand: Total natural resource rents was 1.5% in 2021. ▼ Falling
Total natural resource rents in New Zealand, 1971–2021
Source: The Changing Wealth of Nations, World Bank staff estimates, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
New Zealand recorded 1.5% for total natural resource rents in 2021.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 17.4% on the previous year and down 31.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, total natural resource rents in New Zealand peaked at 2.8% in 1985 and was at its lowest, 0.8%, in 1972.
That places New Zealand 108th out of 211 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 51 years of available data.
Total natural resource rents in New Zealand, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 1.0% | — |
| 1972 | 0.8% | -19.1% |
| 1973 | 1.5% | +83.8% |
| 1974 | 1.3% | -12.8% |
| 1975 | 1.8% | +33.8% |
| 1976 | 2.7% | +51.3% |
| 1977 | 2.2% | -20.8% |
| 1978 | 2.2% | +3.8% |
| 1979 | 2.5% | +12.5% |
| 1980 | 2.7% | +5.3% |
| 1981 | 2.5% | -5.8% |
| 1982 | 2.6% | +6.0% |
| 1983 | 2.1% | -18.9% |
| 1984 | 2.1% | -1.2% |
| 1985 | 2.8% | +32.1% |
| 1986 | 2.0% | -27.9% |
| 1987 | 1.4% | -33.0% |
| 1988 | 1.2% | -8.4% |
| 1989 | 1.7% | +36.1% |
| 1990 | 2.2% | +30.8% |
| 1991 | 2.0% | -9.9% |
| 1992 | 2.0% | -0.3% |
| 1993 | 2.1% | +6.6% |
| 1994 | 1.7% | -20.6% |
| 1995 | 1.6% | -5.8% |
| 1996 | 1.6% | +3.6% |
| 1997 | 1.7% | +5.0% |
| 1998 | 1.4% | -17.9% |
| 1999 | 1.5% | +8.7% |
| 2000 | 2.4% | +53.2% |
| 2001 | 2.1% | -11.1% |
| 2002 | 1.7% | -16.9% |
| 2003 | 1.3% | -27.9% |
| 2004 | 1.1% | -12.5% |
| 2005 | 1.2% | +12.4% |
| 2006 | 1.3% | +4.6% |
| 2007 | 1.4% | +6.2% |
| 2008 | 2.4% | +72.0% |
| 2009 | 1.7% | -26.0% |
| 2010 | 2.1% | +21.4% |
| 2011 | 2.2% | +3.4% |
| 2012 | 1.7% | -23.3% |
| 2013 | 1.5% | -9.7% |
| 2014 | 1.4% | -6.0% |
| 2015 | 1.3% | -10.1% |
| 2016 | 1.0% | -18.4% |
| 2017 | 1.6% | +52.1% |
| 2018 | 1.6% | -0.3% |
| 2019 | 1.5% | -5.3% |
| 2020 | 1.3% | -15.4% |
| 2021 | 1.5% | +17.4% |
New Zealand compared with similar countries
- New Zealand's 1.5% is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.1%, 12.5× the median. (82 countries reporting)
- New Zealand's 1.5% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.7%, 2.1× the median. (36 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 1.8% | 0.8% | 2.7% | 9 |
| 1980s | 2.1% | 1.2% | 2.8% | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.8% | 1.4% | 2.2% | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.7% | 1.1% | 2.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.6% | 1.0% | 2.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.4% | 1.3% | 1.5% | 2 |
Countries ranked near New Zealand
More reference data data for New Zealand
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.4532 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 9.92 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 10.93 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0459 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 10.93 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.52 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 1.53 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 42.17 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 47.53 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.2499 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is total natural resource rents in New Zealand?
- Total natural resource rents in New Zealand was 1.5% in 2021, according to The Changing Wealth of Nations, World Bank staff estimates, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest total natural resource rents recorded in New Zealand?
- The highest recorded value was 2.8% in 1985.
- What is the lowest total natural resource rents recorded in New Zealand?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.8% in 1972.
- How does New Zealand rank for total natural resource rents?
- New Zealand ranks 108th out of 211 countries with data for 2021.
- Is total natural resource rents rising or falling in New Zealand?
- Over the last ten years it is down 31.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this New Zealand data come from?
- The figures come from The Changing Wealth of Nations, World Bank staff estimates, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Total natural resource rents. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 51 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Natural resources rents are estimated as the difference between the price of a commodity and the average cost of producing it. Total natural resources rents are the sum of oil rents, natural gas rents, coal rents, mineral rents, and forest rents.