Drug use disorder deaths in New Zealand

New Zealand: Drug use disorder deaths was 30.38 deaths in 2021. ▲ Rising

Latest (2021)
30.38 deaths
Change on year
up 6.1%
World rank
86th
of 194 countries
All-time high
32.95 deaths
in 2002
All-time low
17.42 deaths
in 2000
Years of data
22
2000–2021

Drug use disorder deaths in New Zealand, 2000–2021

01020302000201020212000: 17.4 deaths2001: 25.4 deaths2002: 33 deaths2003: 21 deaths2004: 21.6 deaths2005: 25.3 deaths2006: 18.9 deaths2007: 27 deaths2008: 26.4 deaths2009: 29.6 deaths2010: 25.8 deaths2011: 29.2 deaths2012: 26.6 deaths2013: 24.1 deaths2014: 29.1 deaths2015: 24.8 deaths2016: 29.6 deaths2017: 29.9 deaths2018: 28.1 deaths2019: 28.7 deaths2020: 28.6 deaths2021: 30.4 deaths

Source: World Health Organization (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in deaths.

Analysis

In 2021, drug use disorder deaths in New Zealand stood at 30.38 deaths.

The figure is up 6.1% on the previous year and up 3.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, drug use disorder deaths in New Zealand peaked at 32.95 deaths in 2002 and was at its lowest, 17.42 deaths, in 2000.

That places New Zealand 86th out of 194 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 22 years of available data.

Drug use disorder deaths in New Zealand, year by year

Annual values for Drug use disorder deaths in New Zealand, 2000 to 2021.
Year deaths Change
2000 17.42 deaths
2001 25.36 deaths +45.6%
2002 32.95 deaths +29.9%
2003 21.03 deaths -36.2%
2004 21.62 deaths +2.8%
2005 25.28 deaths +16.9%
2006 18.95 deaths -25.0%
2007 27.04 deaths +42.7%
2008 26.37 deaths -2.5%
2009 29.56 deaths +12.1%
2010 25.81 deaths -12.7%
2011 29.24 deaths +13.3%
2012 26.56 deaths -9.2%
2013 24.1 deaths -9.3%
2014 29.05 deaths +20.5%
2015 24.76 deaths -14.8%
2016 29.63 deaths +19.7%
2017 29.88 deaths +0.8%
2018 28.07 deaths -6.1%
2019 28.7 deaths +2.2%
2020 28.62 deaths -0.3%
2021 30.38 deaths +6.1%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 24.56 deaths 17.42 deaths 32.95 deaths 10
2010s 27.58 deaths 24.1 deaths 29.88 deaths 10
2020s 29.5 deaths 28.62 deaths 30.38 deaths 2

Countries ranked near New Zealand

  1. 83 Romania 33.48 deaths compare
  2. 84 Colombia 33.16 deaths compare
  3. 85 Kyrgyzstan 32.5 deaths compare
  4. 87 Eritrea 30.08 deaths compare
  5. 88 Latvia 29.73 deaths compare
  6. 89 Singapore 28.02 deaths compare

See the full ranking of 194 places →

More health data for New Zealand

All data for New Zealand →

Frequently asked questions

What is drug use disorder deaths in New Zealand?
Drug use disorder deaths in New Zealand was 30.38 deaths in 2021, according to World Health Organization (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest drug use disorder deaths recorded in New Zealand?
The highest recorded value was 32.95 deaths in 2002.
What is the lowest drug use disorder deaths recorded in New Zealand?
The lowest recorded value was 17.42 deaths in 2000.
How does New Zealand rank for drug use disorder deaths?
New Zealand ranks 86th out of 194 countries with data for 2021.
Is drug use disorder deaths rising or falling in New Zealand?
Over the last ten years it is up 3.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this New Zealand data come from?
The figures come from World Health Organization (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Drug use disorder deaths. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Drug use disorder deaths in New Zealand. Statizoid, drawing on World Health Organization (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 03 September 2026, from https://health.statizoid.com/stat/deaths-drug-overdoses-who/new-zealand/

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About this data

Indicator
Drug use disorder deaths
Unit
deaths
Source
World Health Organization (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
194 places, 4,268 data points, 2000–2021
Last refreshed

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