Small business facts
We define a small business as having less than 20 employees, although there isn’t an official definition in Aotearoa.
Number of businesses by employee size group
There are 612,417 businesses in New Zealand – 97% of them are small businesses.
| Employees | Number of businesses |
|---|---|
| 0 | 448,233 |
| 1-5 | 102,399 |
| 6-19 | 43,941 |
| 20-49 | 11,484 |
| 50 or more | 6,360 |
| Total | 612,417 |
Number and percentage of small businesses by industry
The rental, hiring and real estate industry has the largest amount and greatest proportion (99.79%) of small businesses. Financial and insurance services come in second in terms of proportion, with 99.45% of the industry being small businesses.
| Industry | Small businesses | Medium and large businesses | Total | Small business % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rental, hiring, and real estate | 127,809 | 264 | 128,073 | 99.79% |
| Financial and insurance services | 45,966 | 252 | 46,218 | 99.45% |
| Agriculture, forestry, and fishing | 61,362 | 915 | 62,277 | 98.53% |
| Other services | 28,245 | 573 | 28,818 | 98.01% |
| Construction | 80,202 | 1,695 | 81,897 | 97.93% |
| Professional, scientific, and technical services | 70,989 | 1,632 | 72,621 | 97.75% |
| Information media and telecommunications | 7,422 | 171 | 7,593 | 97.75% |
| Arts and recreation services | 11,661 | 375 | 12,036 | 96.88% |
| Transport, postal, and warehousing | 16,617 | 636 | 17,253 | 96.31% |
| Administrative and support services | 21,198 | 822 | 22,020 | 96.27% |
| Mining | 660 | 30 | 690 | 95.65% |
| Retail trade | 28,455 | 1,434 | 29,889 | 95.20% |
| Health care and social assistance | 23,484 | 1,470 | 24,954 | 94.11% |
| Wholesale trade | 15,498 | 1,143 | 16,641 | 93.13% |
| Accommodation and food services | 23,382 | 1,824 | 25,206 | 92.76% |
| Electricity, gas, water, and waste services | 1,176 | 93 | 1,269 | 92.67% |
| Manufacturing | 20,805 | 2,055 | 22,860 | 91.01% |
| Public administration and safety | 1,149 | 273 | 1,422 | 80.80% |
| Education and training | 8,496 | 2,166 | 10,662 | 79.68% |
| Total | 594,576 | 17,823 | 612,399 | 97.09% |
Average years in business, by business size (employees)
On average, 92% of small businesses are in business for at least one year. Ten years later, 44% of them are still in business.
| Years since opening | ||||||||||
| Business size (employees) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| 0 employees | 84% | 65% | 54% | 46% | 41% | 37% | 33% | 30% | 28% | 25% |
| 1 to 5 employees | 92% | 80% | 70% | 62% | 55% | 51% | 47% | 44% | 41% | 38% |
| 6 to 9 employees | 95% | 86% | 76% | 69% | 62% | 56% | 52% | 50% | 46% | 44% |
| 10 to 19 employees | 95% | 84% | 75% | 67% | 62% | 57% | 55% | 51% | 46% | 44% |
Opens and closures of employing small businesses
2024 saw a dip in the number of businesses that opened, and an increase in the number of closures.
| Year | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opens (000s) | 65 | 60 | 69 | 63 | 68 | 61 | 66 | 76 | 71 | 68 |
| Closures (000s) | 52 | 51 | 54 | 57 | 56 | 50 | 57 | 50 | 59 | 66 |
Exporting insights
The value of New Zealand’s exports steadily increased in the ten years to March 2024. Our top five export destinations and export products also remained relatively stable over this time.
Imports and exports over time (year ending March 2024)
The value of New Zealand’s imports has exceeded the value of our exports since 2022.
| Year | Imports ($ Billion) | Exports ($ Billion) |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 65 | 68 |
| 2016 | 67 | 71 |
| 2017 | 68 | 72 |
| 2018 | 75 | 80 |
| 2019 | 83 | 85 |
| 2020 | 85 | 88 |
| 2021 | 71 | 72 |
| 2022 | 91 | 80 |
| 2023 | 112 | 94 |
| 2024 | 106 | 98 |
Top five exports by product (year ending March 2024)
Our largest export is dairy with a value of $20 billion, followed by travel with a value of $14 billion in the year ending March 2024.
| Product | Value ($ Billion) |
|---|---|
| Dairy | 20 |
| Travel | 14 |
| Meat and edible offal | 9 |
| Wood | 5 |
| Transportation | 4 |
Top five export destinations (year ending March 2024)
Most of New Zealand’s exports go to the People’s Republic of China, followed by the United States of America and Australia.
| Country | Value ($ Billion) |
|---|---|
| China, People’s Republic of | 20.9 |
| United States of America | 15.7 |
| Australia | 15.4 |
| Japan | 4.2 |
| United Kingdom | 3.2 |