Stats NZ

Births and deaths: Year ended June 2023

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 June 2023 compared with the year ended June 2022:

  • 57,534 live births were registered, down from 60,009
  • 38,346 deaths were registered, up from 36,723
  • natural increase (births minus deaths) was 19,185, down from 23,280
  • the total fertility rate was 1.61 births per woman, down from 1.69
  • the infant mortality rate was 3.49 deaths per 1,000 live births, down from 3.85.

Natural increase (19,185 more registered live births than registered deaths) was the lowest since 1943 when it was 17,562. Fewer births in the June 2023 year, combined with a higher number of deaths caused this. An ageing population will result in natural increase continuing to decline, slightly dependent on the number of births each year.

The higher number of deaths in the June 2023 year reflects New Zealand’s ageing population, combined with more deaths in the September and December quarters in 2022, which were affected by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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

ISSN 1178-0436

Next release

Births and deaths: Year ended September 2023 will be released on 16 November 2023.

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