There are very few similarities between the two countries. New Zealand is located approximately 19 570 kilometres away from Spain. Despite this vast difference, both countries are roughly equal distance away from the equator. Spain’s area is almost twice as much as New Zealand’s and this area houses almost eleven times the population of New Zealand. This gives Spain a population density that is 2.5 times New Zealand’s population density. In both Spain and New Zealand, the weather varies tremendously from the north to the south.
Purchasing Power Parity is a method to determine a country’s exchange rate so that identical goods in different countries are worth the same. Spain’s purchasing power parity is $1.378 trillion. This means that Spain has the 12th highest purchasing power parity in the world. Spain imports 58.8 billion US dollars and exports 85.3 billion US dollars worth of services, which includes transport and tourism, which makes the invisible balance 22 129 million Euros. The visible balance is -123, 516 million US dollars. The balance of trade is -87 861 million Euros. This indicates that Spain imports more than they export. Spain spends 0.1378 trillion dollars more on imports than they receive for exports which is ten percent of their GDP. Since Spain has a positive invisible balance, the balance of trade is negative because the value of Spain’s imported goods outweighs the value of Spain’s exported goods.
New Zealand has a GDP (PPP) of $111.7 billion, which gives it the 59th highest PPP worldwide. New Zealand has an invisible balance of $983 million and a visible balance of -$1.2 billion dollars. It has a balance of trade of $346.5 million. The services New Zealand trades are education, professional services, tourism, transportation, government services, foreign exchange, travel, banks, food, hotels, liquors, cafes, restaurants, and takeaway. New Zealand exports 7 608 million dollars worth of services and imports $8 561 million. However, these figures may be inaccurate as they were recorded in 1999.
Although there are vast differences between the value of trade that both countries do, both have a trade deficit in goods traded which is slightly levelled by the surplus of money in the services traded. However, the difference is noted when New Zealand has a positive balance of trade while Spain has a negative one. Spain trades only two services – transport and tourism – which are only two of the fourteen New Zealand trades. Spain has a higher GDP (PPP) than New Zealand. The means that currently the Euro is worth more than the New Zealand Dollar.
Spain exports mainly to France, Germany, Portugal, Italy, UK and the US and imports from Germany, France, Italy, China and the UK. This is likely due to the fact that many of these countries are in close proximity to Spain. This may have trading advantages such as less tariffs and trading restrictions. Machinery, motor vehicles, foodstuffs, pharmaceuticals, medicines and other consumer goods are exported from Spain. The net value of exports is -87 861 million Euros. Goods imported include machinery and equipment, fuels, chemicals, semifinished goods, foodstuffs, consumer goods, and measuring and medical control instruments. The net value of imports is 87 861 million Euros.
New Zealand exports mainly to Australia, US, Japan, China and the UK. It exports to Australia because they are partners in ‘Closer Economic Relations’ which allows free trade in goods and most services. The net value of exports is $29.53 billion. Dairy, meat, crude oil, wood, mechanicals are New Zealand’s top five exports. New Zealand’s main import locations are Australia, China, US, Japan, Singapore and Germany. The goods imported include petrol, mechanical, vehicles, electrical and textiles. The net value of imports is $1.53 billion.
Both countries’ export and import partners have almost nothing in common. Out of their top five trading partners, they only share one export location – UK for exports and China for imports. Spain trades more in man-made goods while five of New Zealand’s top ten exports are edible.
Spain exchange rates are as follows:
6.55957 French Franc
8.77775 Chinese Yuan
200.482 Portuguese Escudo
1,936.27 Italian Lira
1.95583 German Mark
0.88181 British Pound
1.28148 US Dollar
2.52191 New Zealand Dollar
New Zealand exchange rates are as follows:
0.512484 American Dollars
0.789841 Australian Dollars
0.350737 British Pounds
3.5037 Chinese Yuan
0.399473 Euros
24.9375 Indian Rupees
45.9554 Japanese Yen
18.6158 Russian Rubles
0.77198 Singapore Dollars
17.9144 Thai Bahts
Rounded off, one Euro is worth 2.5 times one New Zealand dollar which is also the same ratio for Spain and New Zealand’s population density.
The CIA website was used for most of the data because it is a government source and contained up to date information. Most of the data collected are corroborated by another source so ensure its accuracy. If there was a difference in the data, the data from the most trustworthy site and is the most recently gathered was used.
Spain is a much larger country in relation to New Zealand and thus has a larger population and spends more money in trade. In conclusion, Spain and New Zealand are two very different countries who have basically nothing in common in both geography and economy. They trade to different countries with different goods. Spain trades more closely with partners in the European Union and New Zealand trades closely with Australia, its closest neighbour. However, New Zealand is currently in a better economic state as they receive more money for their exports than their imports cost. This, however, is not the same for Spain. Both economies could be in a better position for the future to prevent losses due to external trade.
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