Stats NZ

Births and deaths: Year ended September 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 September 2023 compared with the year ended September 2022:

  • there were 56,943 live births registered, down from 58,749
  • there were 37,569 deaths registered, down from 38,052
  • the total fertility rate was 1.58 births per woman, down from 1.66
  • the infant mortality rate was 3.58 deaths per 1,000 live births, similar to 3.57 per 1,000.

The total fertility rate (TFR) of 1.58 births per woman in the year ended September 2023 was 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 was a decrease in the number of births for females aged 20–39 years compared with the year ended September 2022, with the largest decreases being for those aged 25–29 (858 fewer births) and 30–34 (777 fewer births).

The total female population aged 20–39 increased for the mean year ended September 2023, although when looking at age sub-groups, there was a small decrease in the female population aged 25–29 years.

Therefore, the decrease in the TFR is driven by a combination of fewer live births for females aged 20–39 years in the year ended September 2023, and an increased number of females in the population.

When looking at fertility rates, that is, the number of births by age, relative to the female population of that age group, there was minimal change for teenage births, or births for women aged 40 years or older between the year ended September 2022 and 2023. However, for females aged 20–39 years, the number of births per 1,000 females in an age group decreased by:

  • 1 live birth per 1,000 females aged 20–24 years, down to 47 births per 1,000 in 2023
  • 5 live births per 1,000 females aged 25–29 years, down to 83 births per 1,000
  • 7 live births per 1,000 females aged 30–34 years, down to 101 births per 1,000
  • 4 live births per 1,000 females aged 35–39 years, down to 60 births 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

ISSN 1178-0436

Next release

Births and deaths: Year ended December 2023 (including abridged period life table) will be released on 19 February 2024.

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