Life expectancy vs. GDP per capita (Riley; Zijdeman) in New Zealand
New Zealand: Life expectancy vs. GDP per capita (Riley; Zijdeman) was 82.09 years in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
82.09 years
Change on year
up 1.3%
World rank
36th
of 236 countries
All-time high
82.66 years
in 2020
All-time low
68.81 years
in 1948
Years of data
76
1948–2023
Life expectancy vs. GDP per capita in New Zealand, 1948–2023
Source: Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
The most recent figure for life expectancy vs. gdp per capita in New Zealand is 82.09 years, measured in 2023.
The figure is up 1.3% on the previous year and up 0.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, life expectancy vs. gdp per capita in New Zealand peaked at 82.66 years in 2020 and was at its lowest, 68.81 years, in 1948.
New Zealand ranks 36th of 236 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 76 years of available data.
Life expectancy vs. GDP per capita (Riley; Zijdeman) in New Zealand, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1948 | 68.81 years | — |
| 1949 | 68.95 years | +0.2% |
| 1950 | 69.25 years | +0.4% |
| 1951 | 69.13 years | -0.2% |
| 1952 | 69.38 years | +0.4% |
| 1953 | 70.21 years | +1.2% |
| 1954 | 70.33 years | +0.2% |
| 1955 | 70.48 years | +0.2% |
| 1956 | 70.72 years | +0.3% |
| 1957 | 70.26 years | -0.7% |
| 1958 | 70.88 years | +0.9% |
| 1959 | 70.77 years | -0.1% |
| 1960 | 71.22 years | +0.6% |
| 1961 | 70.93 years | -0.4% |
| 1962 | 71.2 years | +0.4% |
| 1963 | 71.27 years | +0.1% |
| 1964 | 71.3 years | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 71.22 years | -0.1% |
| 1966 | 71.07 years | -0.2% |
| 1967 | 71.44 years | +0.5% |
| 1968 | 71.09 years | -0.5% |
| 1969 | 71.47 years | +0.5% |
| 1970 | 71.22 years | -0.4% |
| 1971 | 71.72 years | +0.7% |
| 1972 | 71.82 years | +0.1% |
| 1973 | 71.68 years | -0.2% |
| 1974 | 71.94 years | +0.4% |
| 1975 | 72.2 years | +0.4% |
| 1976 | 72.4 years | +0.3% |
| 1977 | 72.13 years | -0.4% |
| 1978 | 73.01 years | +1.2% |
| 1979 | 73.05 years | +0.1% |
| 1980 | 72.86 years | -0.3% |
| 1981 | 73.63 years | +1.1% |
| 1982 | 73.72 years | +0.1% |
| 1983 | 73.83 years | +0.1% |
| 1984 | 74.37 years | +0.7% |
| 1985 | 73.88 years | -0.7% |
| 1986 | 74.12 years | +0.3% |
| 1987 | 74.21 years | +0.1% |
| 1988 | 74.48 years | +0.4% |
| 1989 | 74.89 years | +0.5% |
| 1990 | 75.43 years | +0.7% |
| 1991 | 76.08 years | +0.9% |
| 1992 | 76.19 years | +0.1% |
| 1993 | 76.5 years | +0.4% |
| 1994 | 76.92 years | +0.5% |
| 1995 | 76.79 years | -0.2% |
| 1996 | 76.81 years | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 77.34 years | +0.7% |
| 1998 | 78.17 years | +1.1% |
| 1999 | 77.91 years | -0.3% |
| 2000 | 78.67 years | +1.0% |
| 2001 | 78.66 years | -0.0% |
| 2002 | 78.87 years | +0.3% |
| 2003 | 79.14 years | +0.3% |
| 2004 | 79.35 years | +0.3% |
| 2005 | 80.03 years | +0.9% |
| 2006 | 80.02 years | -0.0% |
| 2007 | 80.12 years | +0.1% |
| 2008 | 80.25 years | +0.2% |
| 2009 | 80.55 years | +0.4% |
| 2010 | 81.05 years | +0.6% |
| 2011 | 80.84 years | -0.3% |
| 2012 | 81.17 years | +0.4% |
| 2013 | 81.61 years | +0.5% |
| 2014 | 81.41 years | -0.2% |
| 2015 | 81.59 years | +0.2% |
| 2016 | 82 years | +0.5% |
| 2017 | 81.61 years | -0.5% |
| 2018 | 81.88 years | +0.3% |
| 2019 | 81.83 years | -0.1% |
| 2020 | 82.66 years | +1.0% |
| 2021 | 82.3 years | -0.4% |
| 2022 | 81.01 years | -1.6% |
| 2023 | 82.09 years | +1.3% |
New Zealand compared with similar countries
- New Zealand's 82.09 years is above the median for high income countries, which is 81 years, 1.0× the median. (85 countries reporting)
- New Zealand's 82.09 years is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 72.85 years, 1.1× the median. (37 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1940s | 68.88 years | 68.81 years | 68.95 years | 2 |
| 1950s | 70.14 years | 69.13 years | 70.88 years | 10 |
| 1960s | 71.22 years | 70.93 years | 71.47 years | 10 |
| 1970s | 72.12 years | 71.22 years | 73.05 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 74 years | 72.86 years | 74.89 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 76.81 years | 75.43 years | 78.17 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 79.57 years | 78.66 years | 80.55 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 81.5 years | 80.84 years | 82 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 82.01 years | 81.01 years | 82.66 years | 4 |
Countries ranked near New Zealand
- 33 Luxembourg 82.23 years compare
- 34 Netherlands 82.16 years compare
- 35 Belgium 82.11 years compare
- 37 Guadeloupe 82.05 years compare
- 38 Austria 81.96 years compare
- 39 Denmark 81.93 years compare
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)
- 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)
- Population ages 00-04, male, per capita 0.0291 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is life expectancy vs. gdp per capita in New Zealand?
- Life expectancy vs. gdp per capita in New Zealand was 82.09 years in 2023, according to Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest life expectancy vs. gdp per capita recorded in New Zealand?
- The highest recorded value was 82.66 years in 2020.
- What is the lowest life expectancy vs. gdp per capita recorded in New Zealand?
- The lowest recorded value was 68.81 years in 1948.
- How does New Zealand rank for life expectancy vs. gdp per capita?
- New Zealand ranks 36th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
- Is life expectancy vs. gdp per capita rising or falling in New Zealand?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this New Zealand data come from?
- The figures come from Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Life expectancy vs. GDP per capita. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Period life expectancy is the number of years the average person born in a certain year would live if they experienced the same chances of dying at each age as people did that year.