Government spending: social security and welfare (incl. GSF) was $47,568 million in 2024/25, up $2,910 million on a year earlier.
Updated
Source: The Treasury (New Zealand). Last retrieved 10 October 2026.
| Period | Core Crown expenses: social security and welfare (incl. GSF) ($m) | Core Crown expenses: health ($m) | Core Crown expenses: education ($m) | Core Crown expenses: core government services ($m) | Core Crown expenses: law and order ($m) | Core Crown expenses: defence ($m) | Core Crown expenses: transport and communications ($m) | Core Crown expenses: economic and industrial services ($m) | Core Crown expenses: heritage, culture & recreation, primary services, housing & community development, environmental protection, other ($m) | Core Crown expenses: finance costs ($m) | Net foreign exchange (gains)/losses ($m) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024/25 | $47,568 million | $30,311 million | $20,895 million | $7,908 million | $6,734 million | $3,271 million | $5,472 million | $3,514 million | $7,140 million | $8,862 million | No data |
| 2023/24 | $44,658 million | $29,999 million | $20,223 million | $8,468 million | $6,527 million | $3,163 million | $5,487 million | $4,010 million | $7,520 million | $8,943 million | No data |
| 2022/23 | $41,575 million | $28,489 million | $18,403 million | $6,806 million | $6,165 million | $2,886 million | $5,472 million | $3,690 million | $7,519 million | $6,569 million | No data |
| 2021/22 | $42,954 million | $27,781 million | $18,023 million | $5,720 million | $5,444 million | $2,832 million | $4,657 million | $8,078 million | $7,268 million | $2,884 million | No data |
| 2020/21 | $36,759 million | $22,784 million | $16,039 million | $5,754 million | $5,202 million | $2,664 million | $5,656 million | $4,481 million | $6,507 million | $1,918 million | No data |
| 2019/20 | $44,028 million | $19,891 million | $16,322 million | $6,083 million | $4,911 million | $2,499 million | $3,179 million | $3,988 million | $4,703 million | $3,228 million | No data |
| 2018/19 | $28,806 million | $18,268 million | $14,293 million | $5,166 million | $4,625 million | $2,395 million | $2,889 million | $3,006 million | $3,820 million | $3,691 million | No data |
| 2017/18 | $26,149 million | $17,159 million | $13,629 million | $4,670 million | $4,184 million | $2,251 million | $2,559 million | $2,732 million | $3,746 million | $3,497 million | No data |
| 2016/17 | $25,511 million | $16,223 million | $13,281 million | $3,957 million | $3,882 million | $2,146 million | $2,176 million | $2,544 million | $3,085 million | $3,534 million | No data |
| 2015/16 | $24,352 million | $15,626 million | $13,158 million | $4,102 million | $3,648 million | $2,026 million | $2,178 million | $2,107 million | $3,142 million | $3,590 million | No data |
| 2014/15 | $23,881 million | $15,058 million | $12,879 million | $4,134 million | $3,515 million | $1,961 million | $2,291 million | $2,228 million | $2,633 million | $3,783 million | No data |
| 2013/14 | $23,308 million | $14,898 million | $12,300 million | $4,502 million | $3,463 million | $1,811 million | $2,237 million | $2,058 million | $2,977 million | $3,620 million | No data |
| 2012/13 | $22,737 million | $14,498 million | $12,504 million | $4,294 million | $3,394 million | $1,804 million | $2,255 million | $1,978 million | $2,879 million | $3,619 million | No data |
| 2011/12 | $22,148 million | $14,160 million | $11,654 million | $5,428 million | $3,338 million | $1,736 million | $2,232 million | $2,073 million | $2,659 million | $3,511 million | No data |
| 2010/11 | $22,029 million | $13,753 million | $11,650 million | $5,563 million | $3,312 million | $1,809 million | $2,281 million | $2,542 million | $4,094 million | $3,066 million | No data |
| 2009/10 | $21,142 million | $13,128 million | $11,724 million | $2,974 million | $3,103 million | $1,814 million | $2,345 million | $2,806 million | $2,207 million | $2,311 million | No data |
| 2008/09 | $19,844 million | $12,368 million | $11,455 million | $5,293 million | $2,992 million | $1,757 million | $2,663 million | $2,960 million | $1,950 million | $2,429 million | No data |
| 2007/08 | $18,420 million | $11,297 million | $9,551 million | $3,371 million | $2,797 million | $1,562 million | $2,244 million | $2,889 million | $2,162 million | $2,460 million | No data |
| 2006/07 | $17,266 million | $10,355 million | $9,269 million | $4,817 million | $2,606 million | $1,517 million | $2,405 million | $1,595 million | $1,605 million | $2,329 million | No data |
| 2005/06 | $16,212 million | $9,547 million | $9,914 million | $2,507 million | $2,146 million | $1,383 million | $1,818 million | $1,592 million | $1,609 million | $2,356 million | No data |
Lines break at accounting-basis changes and missing periods. Source: The Treasury (New Zealand).
Government spending split by function (welfare, health, education, law and order and so on), classified by Treasury using the United Nations Classification of the Functions of Government (COFOG).
These affect how the figures can be compared.
The latest ten periods for up to the first six series. Downloads contain every published observation.
| Period | government spending: social security and welfare (incl. GSF) | government spending: health | government spending: education | government spending: core government services | government spending: law and order | government spending: defence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024/25 | $47,568 million | $30,311 million | $20,895 million | $7,908 million | $6,734 million | $3,271 million |
| 2023/24 | $44,658 million | $29,999 million | $20,223 million | $8,468 million | $6,527 million | $3,163 million |
| 2022/23 | $41,575 million | $28,489 million | $18,403 million | $6,806 million | $6,165 million | $2,886 million |
| 2021/22 | $42,954 million | $27,781 million | $18,023 million | $5,720 million | $5,444 million | $2,832 million |
| 2020/21 | $36,759 million | $22,784 million | $16,039 million | $5,754 million | $5,202 million | $2,664 million |
| 2019/20 | $44,028 million | $19,891 million | $16,322 million | $6,083 million | $4,911 million | $2,499 million |
| 2018/19 | $28,806 million | $18,268 million | $14,293 million | $5,166 million | $4,625 million | $2,395 million |
| 2017/18 | $26,149 million | $17,159 million | $13,629 million | $4,670 million | $4,184 million | $2,251 million |
| 2016/17 | $25,511 million | $16,223 million | $13,281 million | $3,957 million | $3,882 million | $2,146 million |
| 2015/16 | $24,352 million | $15,626 million | $13,158 million | $4,102 million | $3,648 million | $2,026 million |
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.
The attached CSV is government spending by function (core-crown-expenses-by-function), 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: Pre-1994 series were reclassified to COFOG headings by Treasury but are "not necessarily consistent with the COFOG standard". Before 1994 the functions do not sum to financial net expenditure (net lending is not allocated to functions). Social security and welfare includes the Government Superannuation Fund (GSF); NZ Super is within this category.. Do not infer causation from changes during government terms.
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