Life expectancy in New Zealand
New Zealand: Life expectancy was 82.74 years in 2020. ▲ Rising
Life expectancy in New Zealand, 1870–2020
Source: Leandro Prados de la Escosura (2021) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
In 2020, life expectancy in New Zealand stood at 82.74 years. That is the highest value across all 24 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, life expectancy in New Zealand peaked at 82.74 years in 2020 and was at its lowest, 51.62 years, in 1870.
New Zealand ranks 9th of 162 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 24 years of available data.
Life expectancy in New Zealand, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1870 | 51.62 years | — |
| 1880 | 53.61 years | +3.9% |
| 1890 | 55.6 years | +3.7% |
| 1900 | 58.38 years | +5.0% |
| 1913 | 61.23 years | +4.9% |
| 1925 | 64.24 years | +4.9% |
| 1929 | 65.4 years | +1.8% |
| 1933 | 65.4 years | +0.0% |
| 1938 | 65.89 years | +0.7% |
| 1950 | 69.25 years | +5.1% |
| 1955 | 70.48 years | +1.8% |
| 1960 | 71.22 years | +1.0% |
| 1965 | 71.21 years | -0.0% |
| 1970 | 71.22 years | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 72.2 years | +1.4% |
| 1980 | 72.87 years | +0.9% |
| 1985 | 73.87 years | +1.4% |
| 1990 | 75.42 years | +2.1% |
| 1995 | 76.79 years | +1.8% |
| 2000 | 78.68 years | +2.5% |
| 2005 | 80.06 years | +1.8% |
| 2010 | 81.1 years | +1.3% |
| 2015 | 81.98 years | +1.1% |
| 2020 | 82.74 years | +0.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1870s | 51.62 years | 51.62 years | 51.62 years | 1 |
| 1880s | 53.61 years | 53.61 years | 53.61 years | 1 |
| 1890s | 55.6 years | 55.6 years | 55.6 years | 1 |
| 1900s | 58.38 years | 58.38 years | 58.38 years | 1 |
| 1910s | 61.23 years | 61.23 years | 61.23 years | 1 |
| 1920s | 64.82 years | 64.24 years | 65.4 years | 2 |
| 1930s | 65.65 years | 65.4 years | 65.89 years | 2 |
| 1950s | 69.87 years | 69.25 years | 70.48 years | 2 |
| 1960s | 71.22 years | 71.21 years | 71.22 years | 2 |
| 1970s | 71.71 years | 71.22 years | 72.2 years | 2 |
| 1980s | 73.37 years | 72.87 years | 73.87 years | 2 |
| 1990s | 76.11 years | 75.42 years | 76.79 years | 2 |
| 2000s | 79.37 years | 78.68 years | 80.06 years | 2 |
| 2010s | 81.54 years | 81.1 years | 81.98 years | 2 |
| 2020s | 82.74 years | 82.74 years | 82.74 years | 1 |
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)
- Population ages 05-09, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 05-09, female, per capita 0.0287 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 05-09, male, annual growth rate -0.9868 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 05-09, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 05-09, male, per capita 0.0303 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 10-14, female, annual growth rate -1.12 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is life expectancy in New Zealand?
- Life expectancy in New Zealand was 82.74 years in 2020, according to Leandro Prados de la Escosura (2021) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest life expectancy recorded in New Zealand?
- The highest recorded value was 82.74 years in 2020.
- What is the lowest life expectancy recorded in New Zealand?
- The lowest recorded value was 51.62 years in 1870.
- How does New Zealand rank for life expectancy?
- New Zealand ranks 9th out of 162 countries with data for 2020.
- Is life expectancy rising or falling in New Zealand?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this New Zealand data come from?
- The figures come from Leandro Prados de la Escosura (2021) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Life expectancy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 24 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Average number of years a newborn would live if age-specific mortality rates in the current year were to stay the same throughout its life.