Life expectancy at birth, by sex in New Zealand
New Zealand: Life expectancy at birth, by sex was 80.41 years in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
80.41 years
Change on year
up 1.2%
World rank
31st
of 236 countries
All-time high
80.84 years
in 2020
All-time low
66.98 years
in 1951
Years of data
74
1950–2023
Life expectancy at birth, by sex in New Zealand, 1950–2023
Source: UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
New Zealand recorded 80.41 years for life expectancy at birth, by sex in 2023.
That represents a change of up 1.2% on the previous year and up 0.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, life expectancy at birth, by sex in New Zealand peaked at 80.84 years in 2020 and was at its lowest, 66.98 years, in 1951.
New Zealand ranks 31st of 236 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 74 years of available data.
Life expectancy at birth, by sex in New Zealand, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 67.41 years | — |
| 1951 | 66.98 years | -0.6% |
| 1952 | 67.39 years | +0.6% |
| 1953 | 67.92 years | +0.8% |
| 1954 | 68 years | +0.1% |
| 1955 | 68.13 years | +0.2% |
| 1956 | 68.37 years | +0.4% |
| 1957 | 67.71 years | -1.0% |
| 1958 | 68.44 years | +1.1% |
| 1959 | 68.33 years | -0.2% |
| 1960 | 68.67 years | +0.5% |
| 1961 | 68.37 years | -0.4% |
| 1962 | 68.49 years | +0.2% |
| 1963 | 68.52 years | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 68.49 years | -0.0% |
| 1965 | 68.33 years | -0.2% |
| 1966 | 68.07 years | -0.4% |
| 1967 | 68.41 years | +0.5% |
| 1968 | 68.11 years | -0.4% |
| 1969 | 68.41 years | +0.4% |
| 1970 | 68.16 years | -0.4% |
| 1971 | 68.66 years | +0.7% |
| 1972 | 69.02 years | +0.5% |
| 1973 | 68.44 years | -0.8% |
| 1974 | 68.92 years | +0.7% |
| 1975 | 69.03 years | +0.2% |
| 1976 | 69.3 years | +0.4% |
| 1977 | 68.89 years | -0.6% |
| 1978 | 69.76 years | +1.3% |
| 1979 | 69.81 years | +0.1% |
| 1980 | 70.04 years | +0.3% |
| 1981 | 70.5 years | +0.7% |
| 1982 | 70.67 years | +0.2% |
| 1983 | 70.81 years | +0.2% |
| 1984 | 71.16 years | +0.5% |
| 1985 | 70.98 years | -0.3% |
| 1986 | 70.97 years | -0.0% |
| 1987 | 71.31 years | +0.5% |
| 1988 | 71.42 years | +0.2% |
| 1989 | 71.82 years | +0.6% |
| 1990 | 72.49 years | +0.9% |
| 1991 | 73.27 years | +1.1% |
| 1992 | 73.11 years | -0.2% |
| 1993 | 73.76 years | +0.9% |
| 1994 | 74.14 years | +0.5% |
| 1995 | 74.06 years | -0.1% |
| 1996 | 74.22 years | +0.2% |
| 1997 | 74.6 years | +0.5% |
| 1998 | 75.46 years | +1.2% |
| 1999 | 75.38 years | -0.1% |
| 2000 | 76.04 years | +0.9% |
| 2001 | 76.24 years | +0.3% |
| 2002 | 76.56 years | +0.4% |
| 2003 | 76.84 years | +0.4% |
| 2004 | 77.23 years | +0.5% |
| 2005 | 77.84 years | +0.8% |
| 2006 | 77.92 years | +0.1% |
| 2007 | 77.99 years | +0.1% |
| 2008 | 78.18 years | +0.2% |
| 2009 | 78.53 years | +0.4% |
| 2010 | 79.09 years | +0.7% |
| 2011 | 79.03 years | -0.1% |
| 2012 | 79.25 years | +0.3% |
| 2013 | 79.76 years | +0.6% |
| 2014 | 79.57 years | -0.2% |
| 2015 | 79.9 years | +0.4% |
| 2016 | 80.21 years | +0.4% |
| 2017 | 79.89 years | -0.4% |
| 2018 | 80.14 years | +0.3% |
| 2019 | 80.01 years | -0.2% |
| 2020 | 80.84 years | +1.0% |
| 2021 | 80.56 years | -0.3% |
| 2022 | 79.47 years | -1.3% |
| 2023 | 80.41 years | +1.2% |
New Zealand compared with similar countries
- New Zealand's 80.41 years is above the median for high income countries, which is 78.86 years, 1.0× the median. (85 countries reporting)
- New Zealand's 80.41 years is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 69.86 years, 1.2× the median. (37 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 67.87 years | 66.98 years | 68.44 years | 10 |
| 1960s | 68.39 years | 68.07 years | 68.67 years | 10 |
| 1970s | 69 years | 68.16 years | 69.81 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 70.97 years | 70.04 years | 71.82 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 74.05 years | 72.49 years | 75.46 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 77.34 years | 76.04 years | 78.53 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 79.69 years | 79.03 years | 80.21 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 80.32 years | 79.47 years | 80.84 years | 4 |
Countries ranked near New Zealand
More health data for New Zealand
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -2.94 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate -0.4815 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,116 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 33 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 0 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate -0.1187 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per capita 0.0277 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate 0.018 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is life expectancy at birth, by sex in New Zealand?
- Life expectancy at birth, by sex in New Zealand was 80.41 years in 2023, according to UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest life expectancy at birth, by sex recorded in New Zealand?
- The highest recorded value was 80.84 years in 2020.
- What is the lowest life expectancy at birth, by sex recorded in New Zealand?
- The lowest recorded value was 66.98 years in 1951.
- How does New Zealand rank for life expectancy at birth, by sex?
- New Zealand ranks 31st out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
- Is life expectancy at birth, by sex rising or falling in New Zealand?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this New Zealand data come from?
- The figures come from UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Life expectancy at birth, by sex. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Period life expectancy at birth.