Today, Stats NZ has released two papers to help data users understand changes to macroeconomic statistics.
2026 preview of national accounts improvements and updates explains the data updates Stats NZ will make to this year’s cycle of annual national accounts.
Changes to water services: An explainer for economic statistics explains the impacts of Local Water Done Well – the structural reform of water services – on New Zealand’s macroeconomics.
“We are constantly improving our statistics to provide our customers with the most up-to-date and accurate information available about the New Zealand economy,” general manager and macroeconomic spokesperson Jason Attewell said.
“The papers we released today highlight the ongoing work Stats NZ is doing to ensure the release of high-quality macroeconomic statistics.”
Each year, Stats NZ updates the annual national accounts. Data updates occur when:
- new or more timely information has become available
- new methods or data sources are introduced
- existing methods or data sources are updated
- there are changes to the structure of the economy; for example, the impact of Local Water Done Well.
“Data updates allow us to produce timely statistics that reflect what is happening in the New Zealand economy, and to produce more detailed and comprehensive statistics as annual data becomes available,” Attewell said.
Annual national accounts provide more depth, breadth, and detail about the structure of the New Zealand economy while more frequent measures, such as quarterly gross domestic product (GDP), are used for monitoring economic growth.
It is international best practice for national statistics offices to update data as new information or methodologies become available. Stats NZ follows international methods and guidelines in its approach to data updates.
