Driving Auckland’s 6.9% increase in GDP to $5.7 billion were strong performances in transport, construction, and finance according to provisional estimates from Statistics New Zealand.
The rebuild of Christchurch has offset the agricultural decline in Canterbury; it sees a 7.3% increase in GDP to $2.3 billion.Eleven of 15 regional economies in New Zealand grew their GDP.
Provisional estimates for the year ended March 2015 show Auckland and Canterbury had the largest increases in nominal value (today’s dollars and unadjusted for inflation) in gross domestic product by region. The national increase was $8.7 billion (3.7%).
“The significant increase in Auckland reflects strong performances in construction, transport, and finance,” says senior national accounts manager Susan Hollows.
“Canterbury’s increase is associated with the Christchurch rebuild, which offsets a decline in agricultural activity.”
Decreases were recorded in Southland, at $0.5 billion (9.9%), Waikato, at $0.4 billion (2.2%), Taranaki, at $0.3 billion (3.3%), and the West Coast, at $0.1 billion (5%). These decreases reflected a fall in agricultural activity.
Taranaki had the highest GDP per capita ($75,941), followed by Wellington ($65,974) and Auckland ($56,997). The Northland region had the lowest GDP per capita ($35,103). The national average was $52,953.
New Zealand’s total GDP was $241.2 billion for the year ended March 2015. The North Island contributed 76.7% to total GDP, and the South Island 23.3%.
Auckland’s contribution to total GDP for the year ended March 2015 was 36.6%. Canterbury contributed 13.6%, with Wellington narrowly behind at 13.5%. The smallest contribution was from the West Coast region (0.7%).
