Births and deaths releases provide statistics on the number of births and deaths of people resident in New Zealand that are registered during a given period, along with selected fertility and mortality rates. They may differ from statistics presented elsewhere that relate to all births and deaths registered in New Zealand or to births and deaths occurring during a given period.
Key facts
In the year ended March 2024 compared with the year ended March 2023:
- there were 56,277 live births registered, down from 58,707
- there were 37,623 deaths registered, down from 38,835
- the total fertility rate was 1.52 births per woman, down from 1.65
- the infant mortality rate was 3.8 deaths per 1,000 live births, up from 3.5 per 1,000, but down from 4.2 per 1,000 in the year ended March 2022.
The total fertility rate (TFR) of 1.52 births per woman in the year ended March 2024 is the lowest on record. The TFR shows the average number of live births that a woman would have over her lifetime based on current fertility rates by age (the number of births relative to the underlying population of females in an age group).
There were 4.3 percent (or 2,445) fewer births for females aged 20-44 years in the year ended March 2024 compared with March 2023. At the same time, the total female population aged 20-44 increased by 3.9 percent (mean year ended March 2024 population).
Therefore, the decrease in the TFR is driven by a combination of fewer live births for females aged 20-44 years in the year ended March 2024, and an increased number of females in the population.
When looking at fertility rates between the year ended March 2023 and 2024, the change in the number of births per 1,000 women in an age group were:
- No change for females aged 15-19 years, with 11 births per 1,000 females aged 15-19 years in 2024
- 5 fewer live births per 1,000 females aged 20-24 years, down to 44 births per 1,000
- 7 fewer live births per 1,000 females aged 25-29 years, down to 80 births per 1,000
- 7 fewer live births per 1,000 females aged 30-34 years, down to 98 births per 1,000
- 4 fewer live births per 1,000 females aged 35-39 years, down to 58 births per 1,000
- 1 less live birth per 1,000 females aged 40-44 years, down to 13 births per 1,000
- No change for females aged 45 years or over, with just under one live birth per 1,000.
Access data in Infoshare
Use Infoshare to view and download time-series data for births and deaths:
Subject category: Population
Group: Births - VSB
Group: Birth rates - DFM
Group: Deaths - VSD
Group: Death rates - DMM
Definitions and metadata
Births - DataInfo+ gives the general methodology used to produce birth statistics, and related metadata.
Deaths - DataInfo+ gives the general methodology used to produce death statistics, and related metadata.
New Zealand abridged period life tables - DataInfo+ gives the general methodology used to produce the abridged period life tables.
Technical enquiries
Rebekah Hennessey
03 964 8844
[email protected]
ISSN 1178-0436
Next release
Births and deaths: Year ended June 2024 will be released on 19 August 2024.
