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Kōrero: Armed forces

Defence spending as a proportion of GDP, 1972–2010

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Defence spending as a proportion of GDP, 1972–2010

Defence spending as a proportion of New Zealand's gross domestic product (GDP) trended downwards from 1990 and has hovered around 1% or just below from this period. The drop in spending relative to GDP is associated with the end of the Cold War (1945–91).

Note: nominal GDP figures (year ending March) are used. Defence spending figures are based on operating expenditure and do not include capital expenditure.

Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi

Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

Source: Statistics New Zealand

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Me pēnei te tohu i te whārang

Jim Rolfe, Armed forces – Governance of the New Zealand armed forces, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/graph/35729/defence-spending-as-a-proportion-of-gdp-1972-2010 (accessed 4 June 2026).

He kōrero nā Jim Rolfe, i tāngia i te 3 May 2012, updated 1 April 2020.