Wealth share of the richest 1% in New Zealand
New Zealand: Wealth share of the richest 1% was 22.7% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Wealth share of the richest 1% in New Zealand, 1820–2024
Source: World Inequality Database (WID.world) (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
New Zealand recorded 22.7% for wealth share of the richest 1% in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.7% on the previous year and up 0.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, wealth share of the richest 1% in New Zealand peaked at 46.3% in 1930 and was at its lowest, 22.0%, in 1987.
New Zealand ranks 199th of 215 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 56 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1820s | 29.1% | 29.1% | 29.1% | 1 |
| 1850s | 30.2% | 30.2% | 30.2% | 1 |
| 1880s | 29.5% | 29.5% | 29.5% | 1 |
| 1900s | 40.2% | 40.2% | 40.2% | 1 |
| 1910s | 40.2% | 40.2% | 40.2% | 1 |
| 1920s | 46.1% | 46.1% | 46.1% | 1 |
| 1930s | 46.3% | 46.3% | 46.3% | 1 |
| 1940s | 26.6% | 26.6% | 26.6% | 1 |
| 1950s | 32.0% | 32.0% | 32.0% | 1 |
| 1960s | 25.2% | 25.2% | 25.2% | 1 |
| 1970s | 24.2% | 24.2% | 24.2% | 1 |
| 1980s | 22.2% | 22.0% | 22.5% | 10 |
| 1990s | 23.2% | 22.8% | 23.6% | 10 |
| 2000s | 23.1% | 22.1% | 23.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 23.0% | 22.4% | 24.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 22.8% | 22.5% | 23.3% | 5 |
Countries ranked near New Zealand
- 196 Andorra 22.8% compare
- 196 Isle of Man 22.8% compare
- 198 Brunei 22.8% compare
- 200 Montenegro 22.6% compare
- 201 Croatia 22.6% compare
- 202 Bosnia and Herzegovina 22.5% compare
More reference data data for New Zealand
- Spring temperature anomalies 0.2008 °C (2026)
- Summer temperature anomalies 1.76 °C (2026)
- Temperature anomalies by month 0.0464 °C (2026)
- Universal right to vote in practice 2 (2025)
- Autumn temperature anomalies 0.5251 °C (2025)
- Winter temperature anomalies 0.5536 °C (2025)
- Consumer price index 144.86 2010 = 100 (2025)
- Universal right to vote 2 (2025)
- Competitive elections 1 (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote 1 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is wealth share of the richest 1% in New Zealand?
- Wealth share of the richest 1% in New Zealand was 22.7% in 2024, according to World Inequality Database (WID.world) (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest wealth share of the richest 1% recorded in New Zealand?
- The highest recorded value was 46.3% in 1930.
- What is the lowest wealth share of the richest 1% recorded in New Zealand?
- The lowest recorded value was 22.0% in 1987.
- How does New Zealand rank for wealth share of the richest 1%?
- New Zealand ranks 199th out of 215 countries with data for 2024.
- Is wealth share of the richest 1% rising or falling in New Zealand?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this New Zealand data come from?
- The figures come from World Inequality Database (WID.world) (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Wealth share of the richest 1%. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 56 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
The share of wealth owned by the richest 1% of the population. Wealth is defined as the total value of non-financial and financial assets (housing, land, deposits, bonds, equities, etc.) held by households, minus their debts.