GDP up 1.1%: NZ economy grows, but still smaller than a year ago

Thursday, 18 December 2025

The New Zealand economy grew 1.1% in the three months to September, following a 1% decrease in the previous June quarter, new figures revealed.

Gross Domestic Product or GDP - a measure of economic activity - was $280.6 billion in the year to Q3, according to data from Stats NZ. That was smaller than the previous year, when it was $282.1 billion.

'GDP rose in three of the last four quarters, but fell 0.5% over the year ended September 2025 compared with the year ended September 2024,' Jason Attewell, Stats NZ's economic growth spokesperson, said.

'The 1.1% rise in economic activity in the September 2025 quarter was broad-based, with increases in 14 out of 16 industries. This is in contrast to the June 2025 quarter, when GDP decreased in 10 industries.'

Manufacturing was up 2.2% in the three months to September, driven by food, beverage, and tobacco production. It followed a 3.9% fall in manufacturing in the three months to June.

The construction industry was also up 1.7% in Q3, after suffering a 2.9% fall in the three months to June. But annually, construction was down 8.5%.

Exports were up 3.3%, with increases in travel services, dairy, and other services, including insurance.

Also, businesses invested more in physical fixed assets, such as transport equipment and machinery. Stats NZ officials couldn't say if the bump was attributed to the Government's Investment Boost policy which allows businesses to write-off some of the cost of a new asset.

Information media and telecommunications was the largest negative contributor to GDP in the latest quarter, down 2.1%.

The size of the New Zealand economy was $440 billion.

How NZ's Q3 GDP growth compares

NZ 1.1%

Australia 0.4%

Canada 0.6%

China 1.1%

EU 0.4%

Japan -0.6%

UK 0.1%