Māori Have Highest Increases In Life Expectancy

Life expectancy at birth for people identifying with the Māori ethnic group increased more than that of other broad ethnic groups between 2005-2007 and 2022-2024, according to figures released by Stats NZ today.

However, life expectancy for Māori remains lower than that of other ethnic populations.

Life expectancy at birth for people who identify as Māori was 75.8 years in 2022-2024, up 3.1 years from 2005-2007. Over the same period, life expectancy at birth for people who identify with 'European or Other', Pacific, or Asian ethnicities each increased by 1.5-1.6 years.

In 2022-2024, life expectancy at birth was:

• 81.8 years for the population of Aotearoa New Zealand as a whole
• 82.8 years for people who identify with European or Other (including New Zealander) ethnicities
• 76.9 years for people who identify with a Pacific ethnicity
• 86.3 years for people who identify with an Asian ethnicity.

"Although life expectancy has increased since 2005-2007, the size of this increase has reduced over the past five years across all ethnicities - while Māori have continued to show some of the largest increases," population estimates, projections, and coverage spokesperson Victoria Treliving said.

"Across all ethnic groups, male life expectancy has increased faster than for females."