New Zealand
MaintainingAsia-PacificHigh income
Power #44 / 50Per-capita #24
Cognitive Power
20.3
of 100 · #44
CPI
20.3
CC
56.3
ADI
62.5
CDI
0.551
AIR
43.5
AIX
42.8
CRI
43.3
CM
42.8
CV
3.3%
Primary · absolute lens
Cognitive Power
20.3 · #44/50
Total national capacity — AI capital, compute, models & robotics. Strongest in researchers (total), economic mass, research output (total).
Per-capita lens
Cognitive Coefficient
56.3 · #24/50
How deep infrastructure runs per person — rewards intensity, like GDP-per-capita or the HDI.
Agentic Deployment Index — the army of agents
New Zealand's agentic capacity
62.5
ADI · #23/50
How many capable, autonomous agents this society can field, how intelligent they are, and what they are permitted to do — across citizens, business and government. An automated army of agentic problem-solvers may be the single clearest near-term lever of cognitive advantage.
Agent capability (intelligence)71.0
Access — citizens63.0
Autonomy & reach (what agents can do)67.0
Business deployment49.0
Government deployment56.0
CC projection to 2040 — Baseline
All 8 scenarios →Monte-Carlo band (P10–P90) around the median path. Dashed = illustrative historical reconstruction.
Median (P50)P10–P90 bandReconstruction
Pillar profile
Country report · generated from New Zealand's indices & economy
New Zealand — cognitive standing in full
New Zealand is the world's #47 economy by GDP ($264bn) and ranks #44/50 on absolute Cognitive Power and #24/50 on per-capita intensity. No index ranks as a clear strength across the headline indices; its trajectory is Maintaining — holding position but not compounding an advantage. The binding concern is cognitive power index.
Economic & scale context
The economic base AI capacity is built on — and how its scale interacts with the cognitive indices.
GDP (total)
$264bn
#47 of 50
GDP / capita
$57,350
High income · PPP
Population
5M
AI investment
$0.6bn
#34 globally
R&D intensity
1.45%
of GDP
Index-by-index read
For each index: what it means when high (the value) versus low (the risk), and New Zealand's own standing.
| Index | Value | Standing | What a high vs low value means — and where New Zealand sits |
|---|---|---|---|
| CPI Cognitive Power Index | 20.3 | Developing · #44/50 | Low here — limited absolute weight: a price-taker that depends on capacity built elsewhere. ▲ high: great-power scale: the country can shape the frontier, attract capital and talent, and set standards others follow · ▼ low: limited absolute weight: a price-taker that depends on capacity built elsewhere |
| CC Cognitive Coefficient | 56.3 | Moderate · #24/50 | Mid-pack. High would mean deep capability per person: broad productivity gains and a well-equipped workforce; low would mean thin per-person depth: gains stay concentrated and most of the workforce is under-equipped. ▲ high: deep capability per person: broad productivity gains and a well-equipped workforce · ▼ low: thin per-person depth: gains stay concentrated and most of the workforce is under-equipped |
| ADI Agentic Deployment Index | 62.5 | Moderate · #23/50 | Mid-pack. High would mean an automated-agent workforce multiplier is already in place across society; low would mean agents are under-deployed — the clearest near-term productivity lever is being left on the table. ▲ high: an automated-agent workforce multiplier is already in place across society · ▼ low: agents are under-deployed — the clearest near-term productivity lever is being left on the table |
| CDI Cognitive Development Index | 0.551 | Moderate · #24/50 | Mid-pack. High would mean broad, balanced development with no single dimension dragging it down; low would mean imbalance or underdevelopment — at least one dimension is a binding weakness. ▲ high: broad, balanced development with no single dimension dragging it down · ▼ low: imbalance or underdevelopment — at least one dimension is a binding weakness |
| AIR AI Readiness | 43.5 | Moderate · #28/50 | Mid-pack. High would mean institutions and infrastructure are ready to convert capability into real deployment; low would mean governance, data or infrastructure gaps will slow how fast AI can actually be used. ▲ high: institutions and infrastructure are ready to convert capability into real deployment · ▼ low: governance, data or infrastructure gaps will slow how fast AI can actually be used |
| AIX Augmentation Index | 42.8 | Moderate · #24/50 | Mid-pack. High would mean AI is actively in use across the workforce, so capability is being turned into value; low would mean access without adoption — the tools exist but are under-used, so the value is unrealised. ▲ high: AI is actively in use across the workforce, so capability is being turned into value · ▼ low: access without adoption — the tools exist but are under-used, so the value is unrealised |
| CRI Cognitive Resilience Index | 43.3 | Moderate · #26/50 | Mid-pack. High would mean strategic autonomy: a broad home-grown base that is hard to cut off or coerce; low would mean dependency risk: heavy reliance on frontier infrastructure others control — a strategic vulnerability. ▲ high: strategic autonomy: a broad home-grown base that is hard to cut off or coerce · ▼ low: dependency risk: heavy reliance on frontier infrastructure others control — a strategic vulnerability |
| CM Cognitive Momentum | 42.8 | Moderate · #25/50 | Mid-pack. High would mean investment and pipeline favour sustained improvement — today's position is likely to compound; low would mean a weak pipeline — the current position may stall or erode without new investment. ▲ high: investment and pipeline favour sustained improvement — today's position is likely to compound · ▼ low: a weak pipeline — the current position may stall or erode without new investment |
| CV Cognitive Velocity | 3.3% | Moderate · #25/50 | Mid-pack. High would mean improving quickly relative to a moving frontier; low would mean slow improvement — at risk of drifting backwards in relative terms as the frontier advances. ▲ high: improving quickly relative to a moving frontier · ▼ low: slow improvement — at risk of drifting backwards in relative terms as the frontier advances |
Trajectory & growth potential
Trajectory & growth potential
MaintainingNew Zealand's trajectory is Maintaining — holding position but not compounding an advantage. Risk: the frontier keeps moving, so standing still means slow relative decline. A stable base, but it needs fresh momentum to avoid drifting back.
Momentum (CM): 42.8 #25/50
Velocity (CV): 3.3% #25/50
Closing the gap: -1.60 pts/yr vs the frontier
Projected CC by 2040: 74.7 (now 56.3, P50 · scenario not forecast)
Strengths to build on
- No standout strengths across the headline indices yet.
Risk factors
- Relative trajectory — Maintaining: Risk: the frontier keeps moving, so standing still means slow relative decline. A stable base, but it needs fresh momentum to avoid drifting back.
- Affluent but under-utilizing — a high-income economy (GDP/cap $57,350 PPP) whose AI utilization (AIX 42.8) lags its means.
- Binding weakness — Cognitive Power Index 20.3 (#44/50, Developing): limited absolute weight: a price-taker that depends on capacity built elsewhere.
Recommended priorities
- Prioritise the weakest pillar (Compute) to lift the geometric-mean development index (CDI).
- Convert access into utilization: workforce AI-skilling and agentic-workflow adoption.
- Broaden the base (education + data governance) to raise resilience and reduce concentration risk.
▲
These are model outputs and scenarios, not forecasts of actual outcomes. This platform measures access to, utilization of, and leverage from cognitive infrastructure — not intelligence. No causality or certainty is claimed.