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Operating balance before gains and losses (OBEGAL): NZ data and downloads

Total Crown operating balance before gains and losses (OBEGAL) was $−13,973 million in 2024/25, down $1,119 million on a year earlier.

Updated

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

Operating balance before gains and losses (OBEGAL), $m, 1993/94 to 2024/25

Total Crown operating balance before gains and losses (OBEGAL)Total Crown OBEGALx (OBEGAL excluding ACC)
Operating balance before gains and losses (OBEGAL). Total Crown operating balance before gains and losses (OBEGAL), 1993/94 to 2024/25, latest $−13,973 million. Total Crown OBEGALx (OBEGAL excluding ACC), 2007/08 to 2024/25, latest $−9,306 million.-30,000-20,000-10,000010,000New accounting basis, 1996/97New accounting basis, 2004/051993/941999/002005/062011/122017/182024/25
Show the figures
PeriodTotal Crown operating balance before gains and losses (OBEGAL) ($m)Total Crown OBEGALx (OBEGAL excluding ACC) ($m)
2024/25$−13,973 million$−9,306 million
2023/24$−12,854 million$−8,773 million
2022/23$−9,446 million$−7,199 million
2021/22$−9,691 million$−8,664 million
2020/21$−4,560 million$−2,559 million
2019/20$−23,057 million$−20,902 million
2018/19$7,429 million$8,504 million
2017/18$5,534 million$5,942 million
2016/17$4,069 million$4,653 million
2015/16$1,831 million$2,121 million
2014/15$414 million$333 million
2013/14$−2,802 million$−3,833 million
2012/13$−4,414 million$−5,856 million
2011/12$−9,240 million$−11,884 million
2010/11$−18,396 million$−19,993 million
2009/10$−6,315 million$−7,666 million
2008/09$−3,893 million$−3,800 million
2007/08$5,637 million$5,793 million
2006/07$5,860 millionNo data
2005/06$7,091 millionNo data
Full data: operating balance obegal
2024/25Total Crown operating balance before gains and losses (OBEGAL) $−13,973 millionTotal Crown OBEGALx (OBEGAL excluding ACC) $−9,306 millionTreasury basis: PBE Standards
Operating balance before gains and losses (OBEGAL). Total Crown operating balance before gains and losses (OBEGAL): $−13,973 million in 2024/25. Total Crown OBEGALx (OBEGAL excluding ACC): $−9,306 million in 2024/25.

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

Operating balance before gains and losses (OBEGAL): NZ data and downloads: definitions

The Crown's surplus or deficit before gains and losses, revenue less expenses, excluding volatile changes in the value of financial assets and liabilities. Treasury describes it as a more direct indication of the government's underlying stewardship than the full operating balance. OBEGALx (excluding ACC) is shown alongside.

Operating balance before gains and losses (OBEGAL): NZ data and downloads: comparison limits

These affect how the figures can be compared.

  • A balance that moves between surplus and deficit, percentage changes are not meaningful; compare levels or % of GDP.
  • Covers the total Crown, not only the core Crown.

Operating balance before gains and losses (OBEGAL): NZ data and downloads: data by period

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

PeriodTotal Crown operating balance before gains and losses (OBEGAL)Total Crown operating balance before gains and losses (OBEGAL)Total Crown OBEGALx (OBEGAL excluding ACC)Total Crown OBEGALx (OBEGAL excluding ACC)
2024/25$−13,973 million−3.2% of GDP$−9,306 million−2.1% of GDP
2023/24$−12,854 million−3.1% of GDP$−8,773 million−2.1% of GDP
2022/23$−9,446 million−2.4% of GDP$−7,199 million−1.8% of GDP
2021/22$−9,691 million−2.6% of GDP$−8,664 million−2.4% of GDP
2020/21$−4,560 million−1.3% of GDP$−2,559 million−0.7% of GDP
2019/20$−23,057 million−7.3% of GDP$−20,902 million−6.6% of GDP
2018/19$7,429 million2.4% of GDP$8,504 million2.7% of GDP
2017/18$5,534 million1.9% of GDP$5,942 million2.0% of GDP
2016/17$4,069 million1.5% of GDP$4,653 million1.7% of GDP
2015/16$1,831 million0.7% of GDP$2,121 million0.8% of GDP

Operating balance before gains and losses (OBEGAL): 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 operating-balance-obegal.csv
  2. 2Attach it in ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or another assistant
  3. 3
    Paste this prompt

    The attached CSV is Operating balance before gains and losses (OBEGAL) (operating-balance-obegal), 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: A balance that moves between surplus and deficit, percentage changes are not meaningful; compare levels or % of GDP. Covers the total Crown, not only the core Crown.. Do not infer causation from changes during government terms.

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Operating balance before gains and losses (OBEGAL): 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