New Zealand: Transport services (% of commercial service imports)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2025, New Zealand's transport services (% of commercial service imports) rose 0.02 percentage points on 2024 (from 19.93% to 19.95%).

Across the 24 yearly changes before that (2001 to 2024), the average change was −0.51 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 2.73 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 standard deviations above 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 6 percentage points in 2021 and the biggest yearly fall was 6.98 percentage points in 2023. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2016 to 2025 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 1% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

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

How it compares

In 2025, New Zealand had the 98th highest value of the 134 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to New Zealand in the 2025 ranking

• Italy — 94th of 134: 20.1%
• Argentina — 95th of 134: 20.04%
• Kosovo — 96th of 134: 20%
• Korea, Rep. — 98th of 134: 19.53%
• Philippines — 99th of 134: 19.45%
• Cyprus — 100th of 134: 19.28%

What this measures

Transport is the process of carriage of people and objects from one location to another as well as related supporting and auxiliary services. Also included are postal and courier services. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of service imports which are commercial services provided by non-residents to residents.

Limitations: Balance of payments statistics, the main source of information on international trade in services, have many weaknesses. Disaggregation of important components may be limited and varies considerably across countries. There are inconsistencies in the methods used to report items. And the recording of major flows as net items is common (for example, insurance transactions are often recorded as premiums less claims). These factors contribute to a downward bias in the value of the service trade reported in the balance of payments. Efforts are being made to improve the coverage, quality, and consistency of these data.

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

All 26 values

Transport services (% of commercial service imports) in nearby economies

• Australia — 16.35% (2025)
• Brunei Darussalam — 16.22% (2025)
• Cambodia — 54.32% (2025)
• China — 17.88% (2025)
• Fiji — 46.57% (2024)
• French Polynesia — 31.16% (2016)
• Hong Kong SAR, China — 20.99% (2025)
• Indonesia — 23.9% (2025)
• Japan — 13.58% (2025)
• Kiribati

More private sector & trade data for New Zealand

• Merchandise trade (% of GDP) — 35.69% (2025)
• Merchandise imports (current US$) — US$47.55 billion (2025)
• Merchandise exports (current US$) — US$46.7 billion (2025)
• Merchandise imports from economies in the Arab World (% of total merchandise imports) — 0.73% (2023)
• Merchandise imports from high-income economies (% of total merchandise imports) — 63.03% (2023)
• Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside region (% of total merchandise imports) — 4.56% (2023)
• Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in East Asia & Pacific (% of total merchandise imports) — 32.41% (2023)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
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• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is New Zealand's transport services (% of commercial service imports)?

19.95% in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2000?

It is down 12.26 percentage points from 32.21% in 2000. The highest value was 35.68% in 2004 and the lowest 18.36% in 2020.

How does New Zealand rank?

98th highest of 134 economies with data for 2025.

Is the latest change in transport services (% of commercial service imports) unusual for New Zealand?

In 2025, New Zealand's transport services (% of commercial service imports) rose 0.02 percentage points on 2024 (from 19.93% to 19.95%). Across the 24 yearly changes before that (2001 to 2024), the average change was −0.51 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 2.73 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator TM.VAL.TRAN.ZS.WT, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF) 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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