Growth within the small business sector has stalled and is down around 40 per cent, according to a new study by a professional accounting body.

Kiwi small business growth slipped below the Asia-Pacific average last year, and almost two-thirds of the country's small firms were affected by the pandemic, according to CPA Australia's Asia-Pacific Small Business Survey, which has been tracking small business performance for the past 11 years.

Just 29 per cent of small businesses reported growth last year, down from 49 per cent reported a year earlier, the NZ Herald reports.

CPA Australia's New Zealand boss Rick Jones told Mike Hosking the age of business owners has an effect.

"There was a lot more over 50 year olds in the New Zealand small business survey, and without taking anything away from this survey, the over 50 year olds, their uptake of social media and digital platforms is slightly less, whereas the demographic in Asia was a lot younger."

The survey found that the average Asia-Pacific growth rate was 46.2 per cent in 2020, compared with 65 per cent recorded in 2019.

Of the 11 Asia-Pacific markets surveyed, New Zealand small businesses performed the third-worst for growth last year - behind those located in Australia and Hong Kong.

New Zealand also ranked last out of the 11 nations for earning revenue through online sales last year, the survey found.

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