National Accounts
Information Releases | Publications | Classification and Standards | Overview Information | Related Information
Every day there are millions of transactions taking place in the New Zealand economy:
- businesses buy and sell goods and services
- Government collects taxes and makes transfer payments to beneficiaries
- people are paid for the work they do and use this income to buy food or pay rent.
Measuring these transactions is essential to understanding how the economy operates. These transactions are classified, measured and recorded in the national accounts, providing a convenient summary of the key economic and financial flows in New Zealand. They also provide a framework in which to analyse and compare important economic variables such as household consumption and savings. The national accounts are organised within the framework of the New Zealand System of National Accounts (NZSNA), which contains data collected from a wide and varied range of surveys and censuses, providing the necessary basis for subsequent socio-economic analysis.
The national accounts record all types of transactions. They do so for the economy as a whole, and for certain groups or sectors within it. This provides information on economic activities such as:
- the production of goods and services and the costs involved in producing them
- the incomes earned by various groups within the economy, and what they do with them
- the economic relationship with the rest of the world
The main outputs are:
- Gross Domestic Product (GDP) - the measure of the value added from all economic activity in New Zealand.
- Real Gross National Disposable Income - the net income of New Zealand residents from both domestic and overseas sources after taking into account income redistribution by way of international transfers, or gross national income plus net international transfers. The real gross national disposable income statistics are published along with the quarterly GDP information release.
- Government sector statistics - these provide a measure of the financial performance of central and local government operations.
For information about National Accounts Development |
Government Sector Statistics
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Information Releases
Gross Domestic Product - Information Releases
National Accounts - Information Releases
Publications
Measuring Unpaid Work in New Zealand (1999) - Reference Report
New Zealand System of National Accounts - Reference Reports
Tourism Satellite Accounts - Reference Reports
New Zealand Institutional Sector Accounts Experimental Series 1987-1998. This is available on request from: national.accounts@stats.govt.nz
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Classifications and Standards
Information about the Inter Industry Study
Information about the National Accounts
Information about the Quarterly Gross Domestic Product
Overview Information
Profile of New Zealand
National Accounts
Quick Facts - Economy
Guide to National Accounts Statistics
Real Gross National Disposable Income
Upgraded National Accounts 2000
Related Information
Chain Volume Measures Report
Inter-Industry Study 1996 - interim release of tables
Seasonal adjustment within Statistics New Zealand
Subject information is also available from our INFOS database.
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For enquiries and information requests
This page last modified on: 08 September 2003