A new survey has found that New Zealand's small business sector is faltering.

The survey was conducted by CPA Australia, one of Australia's largest professional accounting bodies.

It's conducted annual small business surveys for Asia and the Pacific over the last six years.

And it's found that small businesses in New Zealand are struggling, compared to competitors elsewhere in the region.

Less than half of New Zealand's small businesses have recorded growth in the last 12 months.

A poor overall economic environment has been cited as the reason by most survey respondents.

And only half expect their business to grow in the next year.