New Zealand: Personal remittances, received (current US$)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2022, New Zealand's personal remittances, received (current US$) fell 11.8% on 2021 (from US$461.91 million to US$407.21 million).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1992 to 2021), the average change was +2.8% and a typical year strayed about 23.8% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.6 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 45.1% in 1973 and the biggest yearly fall was 74.3% in 1998. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2013 to 2022 the straight-line trend is downward, about US$10.24 million a year. A straight line explains 42% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

See how every economy compares in the full ranking.

Closest to New Zealand in the 2022 ranking

• Vanuatu — 2nd of 2: US$197.83 million

What this measures

Personal remittances comprise personal transfers and compensation of employees. Personal transfers consist of all current transfers in cash or in kind made or received by resident households to or from nonresident households. Personal transfers thus include all current transfers between resident and nonresident individuals. Compensation of employees refers to the income of border, seasonal, and other short-term workers who are employed in an economy where they are not resident and of residents employed by nonresident entities. Data are the sum of two items defined in the sixth edition of the IMF's Balance of Payments Manual: personal transfers and compensation of employees. Data are in current U.S. dollars.

Limitations: Remittance transactions have grown in importance over the past decade. In a number of developing economies, receipts of remittances have become an important and stable source of funds that exceeds receipts from exports of goods and services or from financial inflows on foreign direct investment. But the quality of statistical remittance data is not high. Remittances are a challenge to measure because of their nature. They are heterogeneous with numerous small transactions conducted by individuals through a wide variety of channels: formal channels, such as electronic wire, or through informal channels, such as cash or goods carried across borders.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a sum.

All 51 values

Personal remittances, received (current US$) in nearby economies

• Australia — US$2.01 billion (2025)
• Cambodia — US$2.2 billion (2025)
• China — US$30 billion (2025)
• Fiji — US$424.19 million (2024)
• French Polynesia — US$581.56 million (2016)
• Hong Kong SAR, China — US$478.55 million (2025)
• Indonesia — US$17.6 billion (2025)
• Japan — US$4.73 billion (2025)
• Kiribati — US$22.61 million (2025)
• Korea, Rep. — US$7.07 billion (2025)

More economic policy & debt data for New Zealand

• Total reserves, including gold (current US$) — US$28.15 billion (2025)
• Total reserves, excluding gold (current US$) — US$28.15 billion (2025)
• GDP (current US$) — US$264.06 billion (2025)
• GDP (current LCU) — 449.8 billion (2025)
• GDP (constant 2015 US$) — US$220.1 billion (2025)
• GDP (constant LCU) — 359.52 billion (2025)
• GDP per capita (current US$) — US$49,591 (2025)
• GDP per capita (current LCU) — 84,475 (2025)
• GDP per capita (constant 2015 US$) — US$41,336 (2025)
• GDP per capita (constant LCU) — 67,519 (2025)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is New Zealand's personal remittances, received (current US$)?

US$407.21 million in 2022, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1972?

It is up 278.56% from US$107.57 million in 1972 (2.7% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was US$2.04 billion in 1996 and the lowest US$107.57 million in 1972.

Is the latest change in personal remittances, received (current US$) unusual for New Zealand?

In 2022, New Zealand's personal remittances, received (current US$) fell 11.8% on 2021 (from US$461.91 million to US$407.21 million). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1992 to 2021), the average change was +2.8% and a typical year strayed about 23.8% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.6 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Where does this data come from?

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator BX.TRF.PWKR.CD.DT, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: IMF balance of payments data, International Monetary Fund (IMF); Staff estimates, World Bank (WB) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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