Number of under-five deaths in New Zealand
New Zealand: Number of under-five deaths was 280 in 2024. ◆ Volatile
Latest (2024)
280
Change on year
down 2.1%
World rank
138th
of 197 countries
All-time high
1,707
in 1960
All-time low
280
in 2024
Years of data
65
1960–2024
Number of under-five deaths in New Zealand, 1960–2024
Source: UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation, UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).
Analysis
New Zealand recorded 280 for number of under-five deaths in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 65 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 2.1% on the previous year and down 16.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of under-five deaths in New Zealand peaked at 1,707 in 1960 and was at its lowest, 280, in 2024.
That places New Zealand 138th out of 197 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Number of under-five deaths in New Zealand, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 1,707 | — |
| 1961 | 1,692 | -0.9% |
| 1962 | 1,644 | -2.8% |
| 1963 | 1,578 | -4.0% |
| 1964 | 1,501 | -4.9% |
| 1965 | 1,415 | -5.7% |
| 1966 | 1,359 | -4.0% |
| 1967 | 1,336 | -1.7% |
| 1968 | 1,327 | -0.7% |
| 1969 | 1,313 | -1.1% |
| 1970 | 1,286 | -2.1% |
| 1971 | 1,277 | -0.7% |
| 1972 | 1,256 | -1.6% |
| 1973 | 1,191 | -5.2% |
| 1974 | 1,126 | -5.5% |
| 1975 | 1,061 | -5.8% |
| 1976 | 999 | -5.8% |
| 1977 | 951 | -4.8% |
| 1978 | 889 | -6.5% |
| 1979 | 844 | -5.1% |
| 1980 | 811 | -3.9% |
| 1981 | 777 | -4.2% |
| 1982 | 750 | -3.5% |
| 1983 | 728 | -2.9% |
| 1984 | 718 | -1.4% |
| 1985 | 709 | -1.3% |
| 1986 | 697 | -1.7% |
| 1987 | 690 | -1.0% |
| 1988 | 686 | -0.6% |
| 1989 | 672 | -2.0% |
| 1990 | 650 | -3.3% |
| 1991 | 622 | -4.3% |
| 1992 | 590 | -5.1% |
| 1993 | 560 | -5.1% |
| 1994 | 528 | -5.7% |
| 1995 | 502 | -4.9% |
| 1996 | 481 | -4.2% |
| 1997 | 463 | -3.7% |
| 1998 | 441 | -4.8% |
| 1999 | 427 | -3.2% |
| 2000 | 418 | -2.1% |
| 2001 | 404 | -3.3% |
| 2002 | 386 | -4.5% |
| 2003 | 376 | -2.6% |
| 2004 | 379 | +0.8% |
| 2005 | 377 | -0.5% |
| 2006 | 376 | -0.3% |
| 2007 | 390 | +3.7% |
| 2008 | 400 | +2.6% |
| 2009 | 394 | -1.5% |
| 2010 | 389 | -1.3% |
| 2011 | 381 | -2.1% |
| 2012 | 368 | -3.4% |
| 2013 | 353 | -4.1% |
| 2014 | 335 | -5.1% |
| 2015 | 330 | -1.5% |
| 2016 | 326 | -1.2% |
| 2017 | 316 | -3.1% |
| 2018 | 308 | -2.5% |
| 2019 | 303 | -1.6% |
| 2020 | 298 | -1.7% |
| 2021 | 293 | -1.7% |
| 2022 | 291 | -0.7% |
| 2023 | 286 | -1.7% |
| 2024 | 280 | -2.1% |
New Zealand compared with similar countries
- New Zealand's 280 is above the median for high income countries, which is 258, 1.1× the median. (65 countries reporting)
- New Zealand's 280 is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 775.5, 36% of the median. (30 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1,487 | 1,313 | 1,707 | 10 |
| 1970s | 1,088 | 844 | 1,286 | 10 |
| 1980s | 723.8 | 672 | 811 | 10 |
| 1990s | 526.4 | 427 | 650 | 10 |
| 2000s | 390 | 376 | 418 | 10 |
| 2010s | 340.9 | 303 | 389 | 10 |
| 2020s | 289.6 | 280 | 298 | 5 |
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)
- Un projection of annual infant deaths 33 (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 number of under-five deaths in New Zealand?
- Number of under-five deaths in New Zealand was 280 in 2024, according to UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation, UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).
- What is the highest number of under-five deaths recorded in New Zealand?
- The highest recorded value was 1,707 in 1960.
- What is the lowest number of under-five deaths recorded in New Zealand?
- The lowest recorded value was 280 in 2024.
- How does New Zealand rank for number of under-five deaths?
- New Zealand ranks 138th out of 197 countries with data for 2024.
- Is number of under-five deaths rising or falling in New Zealand?
- Over the last ten years it is down 16.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this New Zealand data come from?
- The figures come from UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation, UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), published as part of Number of under-five deaths. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 65 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Number of children dying before reaching age five.