Story: New Zealand identity

External trade partners, 1950–2008

External trade partners, 1950–2008

These graphs show dramatically the transformation in New Zealand's trading partners in the second half of the 20th century. In 1950 over 60% of New Zealand's exports and close to 60% of imports were to, or from, the United Kingdom. By the early 2000s the UK comprised under 5% of the trade. The trading partners that had become important were Australia, the United States, Japan and – increasingly – China. Inevitably this shifted New Zealanders' focus away from Britain and towards Asia and the Pacific.

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Source:  G. T. Bloomfield, New Zealand: a handbook of historical statistics. Boston: G. K. Hall, 1984, and Statistics New Zealand

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How to cite this page:

Fiona Barker, 'New Zealand identity - Politics', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/graph/34614/external-trade-partners-1950-2008 (accessed 30 March 2024)

Story by Fiona Barker, published 20 Jun 2012