“The creative sector really surprised me in terms of just how productive it is, and also how much it is improving over time.”
– Shamubeel Eaqub, economist

The first report by well-known economist Shamubeel Eaqub busts some common myths in New Zealand about this fast-growing sector, which ranges from movie and TV production to gaming and music recording. Skills in the creative sector shows the sector is:

• worth almost $13 billion annually (2022): 4% of GDP and growing rapidly
• supports almost 100,000 jobs
• highly productive – about the same as agriculture
• our fourth largest commodity export ($3.6bn in 2023), bigger than fruit, wine and seafood, sitting behind only dairy, meat and forestry.

Economist Shamubeel Eaqub says New Zealand’s creative/creative tech sector is highly productive and improving over time.

The sector also has a much bigger impact on the economy and jobs than commonly perceived.