Minimum relative to average wages of full-time workers in New Zealand
New Zealand: Minimum relative to average wages of full-time workers was 54.56 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees in 2025. ▼ Falling
Latest (2025)
54.56 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees
Change on year
down 1.5%
World rank
4th
of 23 countries
All-time high
70.54 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees
in 1960
All-time low
29.91 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees
in 1984
Years of data
66
1960–2025
Minimum relative to average wages of full-time workers in New Zealand, 1960–2025
Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Percentage of average wage of full-time employees.
Analysis
New Zealand recorded 54.56 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees for minimum relative to average wages of full-time workers in 2025.
That represents a change of down 1.5% on the previous year and up 6.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, minimum relative to average wages of full-time workers in New Zealand peaked at 70.54 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees in 1960 and was at its lowest, 29.91 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees, in 1984.
New Zealand ranks 4th of 23 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 66 years of available data.
Minimum relative to average wages of full-time workers in New Zealand, year by year
| Year | Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 70.54 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | — |
| 1961 | 66.72 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | -5.4% |
| 1962 | 66.88 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | +0.2% |
| 1963 | 64.34 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | -3.8% |
| 1964 | 65.27 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | +1.5% |
| 1965 | 60.87 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | -6.7% |
| 1966 | 58.89 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | -3.3% |
| 1967 | 57.94 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | -1.6% |
| 1968 | 58.75 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | +1.4% |
| 1969 | 60.19 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | +2.4% |
| 1970 | 54.17 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | -10.0% |
| 1971 | 47.87 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | -11.6% |
| 1972 | 42.99 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | -10.2% |
| 1973 | 62.85 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | +46.2% |
| 1974 | 58.17 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | -7.4% |
| 1975 | 58.38 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | +0.4% |
| 1976 | 57.32 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | -1.8% |
| 1977 | 53.5 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | -6.7% |
| 1978 | 54.71 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | +2.3% |
| 1979 | 48.78 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | -10.8% |
| 1980 | 42.91 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | -12.0% |
| 1981 | 36.4 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | -15.2% |
| 1982 | 32.51 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | -10.7% |
| 1983 | 31.25 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | -3.9% |
| 1984 | 29.91 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | -4.3% |
| 1985 | 40.18 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | +34.3% |
| 1986 | 47.86 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | +19.1% |
| 1987 | 51.04 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | +6.6% |
| 1988 | 49.25 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | -3.5% |
| 1989 | 47.77 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | -3.0% |
| 1990 | 46.38 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | -2.9% |
| 1991 | 46.72 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | +0.7% |
| 1992 | 45.99 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | -1.6% |
| 1993 | 46.06 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | +0.2% |
| 1994 | 45.37 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | -1.5% |
| 1995 | 44.78 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | -1.3% |
| 1996 | 43.05 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | -3.9% |
| 1997 | 45.94 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | +6.7% |
| 1998 | 44.5 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | -3.1% |
| 1999 | 43.16 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | -3.0% |
| 2000 | 45.18 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | +4.7% |
| 2001 | 44.91 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | -0.6% |
| 2002 | 45.68 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | +1.7% |
| 2003 | 46.07 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | +0.9% |
| 2004 | 46.76 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | +1.5% |
| 2005 | 47.28 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | +1.1% |
| 2006 | 49.17 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | +4.0% |
| 2007 | 49.37 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | +0.4% |
| 2008 | 50.51 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | +2.3% |
| 2009 | 51.43 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | +1.8% |
| 2010 | 50.66 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | -1.5% |
| 2011 | 50.37 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | -0.6% |
| 2012 | 51.01 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | +1.3% |
| 2013 | 50.52 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | -1.0% |
| 2014 | 50.85 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | +0.7% |
| 2015 | 51.01 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | +0.3% |
| 2016 | 51.39 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | +0.7% |
| 2017 | 51.84 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | +0.9% |
| 2018 | 52.31 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | +0.9% |
| 2019 | 54.99 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | +5.1% |
| 2020 | 55.57 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | +1.1% |
| 2021 | 57.19 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | +2.9% |
| 2022 | 57.2 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 56.82 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | -0.7% |
| 2024 | 55.38 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | -2.5% |
| 2025 | 54.56 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | -1.5% |
New Zealand compared with similar countries
- New Zealand's 54.56 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees is above the median for high income countries, which is 42.96 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees, 1.3× the median. (21 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Minimum relative to average wages of full-time workers in New Zealand changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | +46.2% | 42.99 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | 62.85 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees |
| 1985 | +34.3% | 29.91 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | 40.18 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 63.04 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | 57.94 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | 70.54 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | 10 |
| 1970s | 53.87 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | 42.99 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | 62.85 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | 10 |
| 1980s | 40.91 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | 29.91 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | 51.04 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | 10 |
| 1990s | 45.19 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | 43.05 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | 46.72 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | 10 |
| 2000s | 47.64 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | 44.91 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | 51.43 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | 10 |
| 2010s | 51.5 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | 50.37 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | 54.99 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | 10 |
| 2020s | 56.12 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | 54.56 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | 57.2 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees | 6 |
Countries ranked near New Zealand
- 1 Costa Rica 68.91 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees compare
- 1 Slovenia 48.94 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees compare
- 2 Mexico 61.14 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees compare
- 2 Poland 47.26 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees compare
- 2 Croatia 46.5 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees compare
- 3 Colombia 58.51 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees compare
- 3 Lithuania 41.9 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees compare
- 4 Netherlands 40.63 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees compare
- 5 Latvia 38.06 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees compare
- 5 United Kingdom 51.11 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees compare
- 6 Estonia 36.57 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees compare
- 6 France 50.42 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees compare
- 7 Australia 46.43 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees compare
- 7 Türkiye 26.94 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees compare
More work & labour data for New Zealand
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual -0.0748 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth -0.0721 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth -0.0776 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate -1.39 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate 0.4877 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 5,200 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 511.04 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 2,819 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 2,994 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 5,812 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is minimum relative to average wages of full-time workers in New Zealand?
- Minimum relative to average wages of full-time workers in New Zealand was 54.56 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees in 2025, according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
- What is the highest minimum relative to average wages of full-time workers recorded in New Zealand?
- The highest recorded value was 70.54 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees in 1960.
- What is the lowest minimum relative to average wages of full-time workers recorded in New Zealand?
- The lowest recorded value was 29.91 Percentage of average wage of full-time employees in 1984.
- How does New Zealand rank for minimum relative to average wages of full-time workers?
- New Zealand ranks 4th out of 23 countries with data for 2025.
- Is minimum relative to average wages of full-time workers rising or falling in New Zealand?
- Over the last ten years it is up 6.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this New Zealand data come from?
- The figures come from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as part of Minimum relative to average wages of full-time workers. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
For cross-country comparisons, data on minimum wage levels are further supplemented with another measure of minimum wages relative to average wages, that is, the ratio of minimum wages to median earnings of full-time employees. Median rather than mean earnings provide a better basis for international comparisons as it accounts for differences in earnings dispersion across countries. However, while median of basic earnings of full-time workers - i.e. excluding overtime and bonus payments - are ideally, the preferred measure of average wages for international comparisons of minimum-to-median earnings, they are not available for a large number of countries. Minimum relative to mean earnings of full-time workers are also provided.