Government at a Glance 2015
Country Fact Sheetwww.oecd.org/gov/govataglance.htm
New Zealand public spending is close to the OECD average,despite low public sector employment
In 2013, government expenditures in New Zealand amounted to 40.1% of GDP, close to the OECD average of 41.9%. Out of the public expenditure, the percentage spent on the compensation of employees at 23.5%, was also not far from the OECD average of 22.9%. Total public sector employment, at 12.4% of the general labour force, however, was significantly lower than the OECD average of 21.3%. Intermediate consumption (contracting out) and cash transfers were similar to the OECD average. Public investment attained 9.6 % of GDP in 2013 – which may in part be related to reconstruction after the Christchurch earthquake – compared to the OECD average of 7.8%.
Chapter 2: Public finance and economicsGeneral government expenditures as a percentage of GDPGeneral government expenditures by economic transaction
Chapter 3: Public employment and compensationPublic sector employment as a percentage of the labour force
Integrity practices are unequal across branches of the New Zealand government
Disclosure of private interest of public officials is one of the tools for managing conflict of interest in gov-ernment. Disclosure requirements in New Zealand are high for the legislative branch, relative to the OECD average, but do not exist for the judicial branch of government. Disclosure requirements are higher than the OECD average for the Executive branch, but lower in “at risk” areas, such as tax and custom officials, pro-curement agents and staff of financial authorities.
Chapter 7: Public Sector IntegrityLevel of disclosure and public availability of private interests across branches of government
New Zealanders are more satisfied with public servicesthan citizens in most OECD countries
Satisfaction with health care in New Zealand is high – 84% – compared to 71% across the OECD; followed by education – 73% in New Zealand compared to 67% on average in the OECD; while 63% had confi-dence in the judicial system, compared to an average of 54% in the OECD. Out of pocket expenditure for healthcare as a percentage of final household consumption is relatively low in New Zealand: 1.8% in 2012, compared to 2.8% on average across the OECD. Responsiveness of the health care system to patient needs compares well internationally as expressed by waiting times for health care appointments and the involve-ment of patients in care and treatment.
Chapter 12: Serving CitizensCitizens’ satisfaction with the health care systemCitizens’ satisfaction with the education systemCitizens‘ confidence with the judicial systemOut-of-pocket medical expenditure as a share of final household consumptionWaiting times for a doctor or nurse appointment and a specialist appointmentRegular doctor providing easy-to-understand explanations
New Zealand
Government revenues(2013)
Government expenditures(2013)
Government gross debt *(2013)
% of GDP % of GDP % of GDP
Source: OECD National Accounts Source: OECD National Accounts Source: OECD National Accounts
G@G /dataG@G /data
-15% -10% 0%-5% +5% +10% +15%-0.4%
New Zealand
-4.2%
Fiscal balance *(2013)% of GDP
Public investment(2013)
% of of total govt. expenditures
How to read the figures:
New Zealand
Country value in blue (not represented if not available)
Average of OECD countries in green
Range of OECD country values in grey
Public Finance & Economics Public Employment & Compensation
Public Finance and Economics
GOVERNMENT INPUTS: FINANCIAL AND HUMAN RESOURCES
29.3%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
33.3%New Zealand
20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
41.9%40.1%
New Zealand
7.8%
0% 5% 10% 15% 20%
9.6%
New Zealand
0% 50% 100% 150% 200% 250%
109.3% 100%
0%
n.a.New Zealand
100%
0%
Values have been rounded. n.a. refers to
data not available
Source: OECD National Accounts* SNA definition, see Notes
Source: OECD National Accounts. * See Notes
Public Employment and Compensation
G@G /data
58.0%
57.6%New Zealand
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Public sector employment filled by women (2013)
Source: International Labour Organization (database)
Share of women ministers(2015)
Source: Inter-Parliamentary Union Parline Database
Public sector employmentas % of total employment (2013)
Source: International Labour Organization (database)
21.3%
12.4%New Zealand
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%
20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
37.7%39.7%
New Zealand
GOVERNMENT PROCESSES
Institutions Regulatory Governance Public Procurement Public Sector Integrity Digital Government
Digital Gov.
High Moderate Low
30%59%11%
HighNew Zealand
G@G /data
Level ofinfluence of the
Centre of Governmentover line ministries
(2013)
Institutions
Source: OECD 2013 Survey on Centre of Government
Women in Government
Primary lawsSubordinateregulations
Stakeholder engagement to inform o�cials about the problem and
possible solutions
Primary lawsSubordinateregulations
Consultation on draft regulations or proposed rules
For all primary laws
For all primary laws
3%15%65%15%2%
6%9%
62%23%0%
68%6%
18%6%2%
53%18%24%5%0%
For all subordinate regulations
For all primary laws /subordinate regulations
For major primary laws /subordinate regulations
For some primary laws /subordinate regulations
NeverNotapplicable
For all subordinate regulationsNew Zealand
G@G /data
Source: OECD Regulatory Policy Outlook (forthcoming)
Stakeholder engagement and consultation (2014)
Regulatory Governance
Strategic public procurement - Objectives(2014)
G@G /data
Public Procurement
0% 10% 20% 30% 40%
29.0%
50%
36.3%
New Zealand
Source: OECD National Accounts
Procurement expenditure(2013)
% of government expenditures
Source: 2014 OECD Survey on Public Procurement
Public Sector Integrity
2632
64
44
Judicial Branch “At risk” areasLegislative Branch
Executive Branch
Low level
Medium level
High level
21
0
88
50
New ZealandNew ZealandNew ZealandNew Zealand
Level of disclosure of private interestsacross branches of government
(2014)
Source: 2014 OECD Survey on Managing Conflict of Interest in the Executive Branch and Whistleblower Protection
0.58
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
0.59New Zealand
OURdata Index:Open, Useful, ReusableGovernment Data (2014)
Composite indexfrom 0 lowest to 1 highest
Source: 2014 OECD Survey on Open Government Data
Support for greenpublic procurement
A strategy / policy has been developed by some procuring entities
A strategy / policy has been developed at a central level
Support forSMEs
Support for innovativegoods and services
13 26 1
A strategy / policy has been rescinded
A strategy / policy has never been developed
2 10 25 0 3 10 23 0 3
New Zealand
GOVERNMENT OUTPUTS AND OUTCOMES
Notes Fiscal balance as reported in the System of National Accounts (SNA) framework, also referred to as net lending (+) or net borrowing (-) of government, is calculated as total government revenues minus total government expenditures. Structural fiscal balance, or underlying balance, represents the fiscal balance adjusted for the state of the economic cycle (as measured by the output gap which resulted as the dif ference between actual and potential GDP) and one-off fiscal operations. Government gross debt is reported according to the SNA definition, which dif fers from the definition applied under the Maastricht Treaty. It is defined as all liabilities that require payment or payments of interest or principal by the debtor to the creditor at a date or dates in the future. All debt instruments are liabilities, but some liabilities such as shares, equity and financial derivatives are not debt. Government debt for Australia is reported on an adjusted basis (i.e. excluding unfunded pension liabilities).
Core Government Results and Service Delivery
Out of pocket expenditure as a % of final household consumption Access to healthcare (2012)
Source: OECD Health Statistics 2014
Satisfaction and confidence across public services (2014)
71%
Judicial system
Education system
84%
20
40
60
80
100
Health care
67%73%
54%63%
National government42%63%
New Zealand
Average
Range
Source: Gallup World Poll
-15%
-10%
-5%
0%
5%
New ZealandTop10%
-0.9%
Bottom10%
-2.2%
Top10%
Bottom10%
-1.6% -0.8%
Changes in household disposable income,by income group (2007-2011)
Source: OECD Income Distribution Database
Limited government powers(2014)
New Zealand0.85
0.76
[0.37-0.92]
Source: The World Justice Project
Equity in learning outcomes (2012)PISA mathematics score variance by socio economic background
14.8%
5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%
18.4%New Zealand
Source: OECD, PISA 2012 results: Excellence through equity, 2013
% of citizens expressing confidence/satisfaction
Government at a Glance 2015With a focus on public administration, OECD Government at a Glance 2015 provides readers with a dashboard of key indicators assembled with the
goal of contributing to the analysis and international comparison of public sector performance across OECD countries. Indicators on public finances
and employment are provided alongside composite indexes summarising aspects of public management policies, and indicators on services to
citizens in health care, education, and justice. Government at a Glance 2015 also includes indicators on key governance and public management
issues, such as regulatory management, budgeting practices and procedures, public sector integrity, public procurement and core government
results in terms of trust in institutions, income redistribution and efficiency and cost-effectiveness of governments.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/gov_glance-2015-en
The Excel spreadsheets used to create the tables and figures in Government at a Glance 2015 are available via the StatLinks provided throughout the publication:
For more information on the data (including full methodology and figure notes)and to consult all other Country Fact Sheets: www.oecd.org/gov/govataglance.htm
2.8%
0% 1% 2% 3% 4% 5%
1.8%New Zealand