New Zealand vs United States of America: Annual death rate by age group
New Zealand
4.6 deaths per 1,000 people
in 2021
United States of America
5.5 deaths per 1,000 people
in 2023
New Zealand rank
7th
United States of America rank
4th
Annual death rate by age group over time
- New Zealand
- United States of America
How they compare
United States of America currently reports 5.5 deaths per 1,000 people against 4.6 deaths per 1,000 people in New Zealand, a difference of 0.9 deaths per 1,000 people.
That makes United States of America's figure about 1.2 times New Zealand's.
The two have swapped places 8 times across 74 shared years of data; in 1948 it was United States of America ahead.
New Zealand ranks 7th and United States of America ranks 4th of 41 countries.
Across the 9 decades both report, New Zealand averaged higher in 1 and United States of America in 8.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | New Zealand | United States of America | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1940s | 29.41 deaths per 1,000 people | 35.24 deaths per 1,000 people | 5.83 deaths per 1,000 people | United States of America |
| 1950s | 26.06 deaths per 1,000 people | 29.68 deaths per 1,000 people | 3.61 deaths per 1,000 people | United States of America |
| 1960s | 19.9 deaths per 1,000 people | 24.53 deaths per 1,000 people | 4.62 deaths per 1,000 people | United States of America |
| 1970s | 15.21 deaths per 1,000 people | 16.59 deaths per 1,000 people | 1.39 deaths per 1,000 people | United States of America |
| 1980s | 11.5 deaths per 1,000 people | 11.11 deaths per 1,000 people | 0.392 deaths per 1,000 people | New Zealand |
| 1990s | 6.94 deaths per 1,000 people | 8.24 deaths per 1,000 people | 1.31 deaths per 1,000 people | United States of America |
| 2000s | 5.25 deaths per 1,000 people | 6.98 deaths per 1,000 people | 1.73 deaths per 1,000 people | United States of America |
| 2010s | 4.36 deaths per 1,000 people | 5.87 deaths per 1,000 people | 1.51 deaths per 1,000 people | United States of America |
| 2020s | 4.18 deaths per 1,000 people | 5.42 deaths per 1,000 people | 1.23 deaths per 1,000 people | United States of America |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher annual death rate by age group, New Zealand or United States of America?
- United States of America, at 5.5 deaths per 1,000 people against 4.6 deaths per 1,000 people in New Zealand as of 2023.
- What is the difference in annual death rate by age group between New Zealand and United States of America?
- 0.9 deaths per 1,000 people, with United States of America ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for New Zealand and United States of America?
- 74 years are reported by both, from 1948 to 2021.
- How do New Zealand and United States of America rank globally for annual death rate by age group?
- New Zealand ranks 7th and United States of America ranks 4th of 41 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Human Mortality Database (2025) β with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Annual death rate by age group. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Death rate, calculated as the number of deaths divided by the average number of people alive during the interval.