Nursing personnel in New Zealand

New Zealand: Nursing personnel was 65,717 in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
65,717
Change on year
up 8.5%
World rank
59th
of 189 countries
All-time high
97,953
in 1986
All-time low
29,131
in 1987
Years of data
44
1980–2024

Nursing personnel in New Zealand, 1980–2024

20.0k40.0k60.0k80.0k100.0k1980200220241980: 83.3k1981: 86.0k1982: 89.7k1983: 94.3k1984: 94.0k1985: 94.2k1986: 98.0k1987: 29.1k1988: 33.5k1990: 31.3k1991: 32.4k1992: 31.1k1993: 33.4k1994: 34.7k1995: 35.7k1996: 36.3k1997: 34.0k1998: 36.8k1999: 36.8k2000: 37.0k2001: 37.3k2002: 37.1k2003: 36.5k2004: 38.5k2005: 37.3k2006: 37.0k2007: 38.9k2008: 41.6k2009: 41.9k2010: 43.8k2011: 44.4k2012: 44.2k2013: 44.7k2014: 45.6k2015: 47.1k2016: 48.3k2017: 48.7k2018: 50.1k2019: 51.0k2020: 53.9k2021: 55.8k2022: 58.3k2023: 60.6k2024: 65.7k

Source: World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory.

Analysis

In 2024, nursing personnel in New Zealand stood at 65,717.

That represents a change of up 8.5% on the previous year and up 44.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, nursing personnel in New Zealand peaked at 97,953 in 1986 and was at its lowest, 29,131, in 1987.

New Zealand ranks 59th of 189 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 44 years of available data.

Nursing personnel in New Zealand, year by year

Annual values for Nursing personnel (number) in New Zealand, 1980 to 2024.
Year Value Change
1980 83,273
1981 86,048 +3.3%
1982 89,670 +4.2%
1983 94,263 +5.1%
1984 94,002 -0.3%
1985 94,240 +0.3%
1986 97,953 +3.9%
1987 29,131 -70.3%
1988 33,495 +15.0%
1990 31,255 -6.7%
1991 32,439 +3.8%
1992 31,062 -4.2%
1993 33,429 +7.6%
1994 34,674 +3.7%
1995 35,722 +3.0%
1996 36,303 +1.6%
1997 34,016 -6.3%
1998 36,763 +8.1%
1999 36,770 +0.0%
2000 36,976 +0.6%
2001 37,303 +0.9%
2002 37,097 -0.6%
2003 36,514 -1.6%
2004 38,484 +5.4%
2005 37,316 -3.0%
2006 37,010 -0.8%
2007 38,925 +5.2%
2008 41,603 +6.9%
2009 41,871 +0.6%
2010 43,789 +4.6%
2011 44,384 +1.4%
2012 44,190 -0.4%
2013 44,714 +1.2%
2014 45,572 +1.9%
2015 47,120 +3.4%
2016 48,256 +2.4%
2017 48,743 +1.0%
2018 50,057 +2.7%
2019 50,976 +1.8%
2020 53,933 +5.8%
2021 55,802 +3.5%
2022 58,261 +4.4%
2023 60,581 +4.0%
2024 65,717 +8.5%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 78,008 29,131 97,953 9
1990s 34,243 31,062 36,770 10
2000s 38,310 36,514 41,871 10
2010s 46,780 43,789 50,976 10
2020s 58,859 53,933 65,717 5

Countries ranked near New Zealand

  1. 56 Peru 71,052 compare
  2. 57 Finland 70,722 compare
  3. 58 Kenya 66,098 compare
  4. 60 United Arab Emirates 64,822 compare
  5. 61 Tajikistan 62,445 compare
  6. 62 Denmark 62,344 compare

See the full ranking of 190 places →

More health data for New Zealand

All data for New Zealand →

Frequently asked questions

What is nursing personnel in New Zealand?
Nursing personnel in New Zealand was 65,717 in 2024, according to World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory.
What is the highest nursing personnel recorded in New Zealand?
The highest recorded value was 97,953 in 1986.
What is the lowest nursing personnel recorded in New Zealand?
The lowest recorded value was 29,131 in 1987.
How does New Zealand rank for nursing personnel?
New Zealand ranks 59th out of 189 countries with data for 2024.
Is nursing personnel rising or falling in New Zealand?
Over the last ten years it is up 44.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this New Zealand data come from?
The figures come from World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory, published as part of Nursing personnel (number). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 44 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (WHO).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Nursing personnel in New Zealand. Statizoid, drawing on World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory. Retrieved 29 August 2026, from https://health.statizoid.com/stat/nursing-personnel-number/new-zealand/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (WHO); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://health.statizoid.com/stat/nursing-personnel-number/new-zealand/">Nursing personnel in New Zealand</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Nursing personnel (number)
Source
World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (WHO)
Coverage
190 places, 3,845 data points, 1971–2024
Last refreshed