Births and deaths releases provide statistics on the number of births and deaths of people resident in New Zealand that are registered during a given period, along with selected fertility and mortality rates. They may differ from statistics presented elsewhere that relate to all births and deaths registered in New Zealand or to births and deaths occurring during a given period.
Key facts
In the year ended June 2024 compared with the year ended June 2023:
- there were 57,006 live births registered, down from 57,534
- there were 37,500 deaths registered, down from 38,346
- the total fertility rate was 1.53 births per woman, down from 1.60
- the infant mortality rate was 4.95 deaths per 1,000 live births, up from 3.55 per 1,000.
Data published in this release are based on the date that the birth or death was registered, not when it occurred. For most purposes this distinction makes little difference and enables timely data to be published without the need for subsequent revisions. While deaths in particular are generally registered quickly, occasionally there can be a 'catch-up period' for infant deaths where additional deaths are registered even though the date of occurrence was further back.
The higher infant death rate in June 2024 was partly a result of around 30 additional infant deaths registered in this period, even though those deaths occurred between 2016 and 2022. Around 10 percent of the infant deaths registered in the June 2024 year occurred more than two years before registration. In the June 2023 year, only 0.5 percent of infant deaths were registered more than two years after they occurred.
If infant mortality is calculated by date of occurrence, the infant mortality rate would have provisionally been 3.82 infant deaths per 1,000 estimated live births in the June 2024 year, compared with 3.77 in the June 2023 year.
New Zealand cohort life tables: March 2023 update gives annual death rates from 1876 at each age, including age 0 (infants), based on births and deaths occurring in each December year. The next update of this series will be in March 2025.
Health New Zealand also publishes infant death data on their Fetal and infant deaths web tool.
Cohort fertility update
Cohort fertility is another measure of fertility, tracing the fertility experience of women born in a particular year. It measures the average number of births that women born in a particular year have had by the end of their reproductive life.
The cohort fertility series has been updated and is available in Infoshare. It is found under the subject category 'Population' >'Birth Rates - DFM' >'Cohort fertility, completed fertility rate for women born from 1894 onwards (Annual-Dec)'.
COVID-19 data portal
On Thursday, 22 August 2024, Stats NZ's COVID-19 data portal will be closing. This means that weekly death numbers and weekly death rates will no longer be available through the portal.
Although the portal will no longer be operational, the data it held will still be available upon request.
If you would like to request data or have a question about the COVID-19 data portal closure, please contact our Information centre.
Access data in Infoshare
Use Infoshare to view and download time-series data for births and deaths:
Subject category: Population
Group: Births - VSB
Group: Birth rates - DFM
Group: Deaths - VSD
Group: Death rates - DMM
Definitions and metadata
Births - DataInfo+ gives the general methodology used to produce birth statistics, and related metadata.
Deaths - DataInfo+ gives the general methodology used to produce death statistics, and related metadata.
New Zealand abridged period life tables - DataInfo+ gives the general methodology used to produce the abridged period life tables.
Technical enquiries
Rebekah Hennessey
04 931 4600
[email protected]
ISSN 1178-0436
Next release
Births and deaths: Year ended September 2024 will be released on 21 November 2024.
