NZ inNumbers

Net government debt: NZ data and downloads

Net government debt (excl. NZS Fund and advances) was $182,171 million in 2024/25, up $6,707 million on a year earlier.

Updated

Source: The Treasury (New Zealand). Last retrieved 10 October 2026.

Net government debt, $m, 1991/92 to 2024/25

Net core Crown debt. Net core Crown debt (excl. NZS Fund and advances), 1991/92 to 2024/25, latest $182,171 million.050,000100,000150,000200,000New accounting basis, 1993/94New accounting basis, 2004/051991/921997/982003/042009/102015/162021/222024/25
Show the figures
PeriodNet core Crown debt (excl. NZS Fund and advances) ($m)
2024/25$182,171 million
2023/24$175,464 million
2022/23$155,273 million
2021/22$128,873 million
2020/21$102,080 million
2019/20$83,375 million
2018/19$57,736 million
2017/18$57,495 million
2016/17$59,480 million
2015/16$61,880 million
2014/15$60,631 million
2013/14$59,931 million
2012/13$55,835 million
2011/12$50,671 million
2010/11$40,128 million
2009/10$26,738 million
2008/09$17,119 million
2007/08$10,258 million
2006/07$13,380 million
2005/06$16,162.7 million
Full data: net core crown debt
2024/25Net core Crown debt (excl. NZS Fund and advances) $182,171 millionTreasury basis: PBE Standards
Net core Crown debt. Net core Crown debt (excl. NZS Fund and advances): $182,171 million in 2024/25.

Lines break at accounting-basis changes and missing periods. Source: The Treasury (New Zealand).

Net government debt: NZ data and downloads: definitions

Gross sovereign-issued debt less core Crown financial assets, excluding advances and assets held by the NZ Super Fund. Treasury describes it as information about the sustainability of the government's accounts, used by some rating agencies. Treasury notes it was the headline indicator between 2009 and 2021.

Net government debt: NZ data and downloads: comparison limits

These affect how the figures can be compared.

  • One of three different net debt measures Treasury has used as its headline. They are not interchangeable, see "Net debt measures compared".
  • In this source the $ millions series starts in 1991/92 but the % of GDP series only starts in 2004/05.

Net government debt: NZ data and downloads: data by period

The latest ten periods for up to the first six series. Downloads contain every published observation.

Periodnet government debt (excl. NZS Fund and advances)net government debt (excl. NZS Fund and advances)
2024/25$182,171 million41.8% of GDP
2023/24$175,464 million41.8% of GDP
2022/23$155,273 million38.7% of GDP
2021/22$128,873 million35.2% of GDP
2020/21$102,080 million29.7% of GDP
2019/20$83,375 million26.2% of GDP
2018/19$57,736 million18.6% of GDP
2017/18$57,495 million19.5% of GDP
2016/17$59,480 million21.6% of GDP
2015/16$61,880 million23.9% of GDP

Net government debt: NZ data and downloads: questions for your AI

Download the file, attach it in the assistant you use, then paste the prompt. Whatever it tells you is its reading of the data, not ours.

  1. 1Download net-core-crown-debt.csv
  2. 2Attach it in ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or another assistant
  3. 3
    Paste this prompt

    The attached CSV is net government debt (net-core-crown-debt), from The Treasury (New Zealand), Fiscal Time Series – Historical Fiscal Indicators. Describe how each measure has changed, naming its unit and period. Treat changes in basis and missing periods as breaks. Distinguish observation from explanation. Limitations: One of three different net debt measures Treasury has used as its headline. They are not interchangeable, see "Net debt measures compared". In this source the $ millions series starts in 1991/92 but the % of GDP series only starts in 2004/05.. Do not infer causation from changes during government terms.

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Net government debt: NZ data and downloads: sources

The source publication, licence and snapshot used to build this page.

Organisation
The Treasury (New Zealand), Fiscal Time Series – Historical Fiscal Indicators
Licence
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0). Source: The Treasury, Fiscal Time Series – Historical Fiscal Indicators, licensed under CC BY 4.0. Figures transformed and calculated by NZ in Numbers.
Reuse limits
Treasury logos, emblems, trade marks and website design are not covered and must not be reused.
Snapshot
data/raw/treasury-hfi/2026-10-10_de59f9028a81.xlsx
SHA256
de59f9028a81a697ee66eea04861edfd8e2c3a7e472b3b8798d976951964f70f
Retrieved
10 October 2026