Births and deaths: Year ended December 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 December 2023:

• 56,955 live births and 37,884 deaths were registered in New Zealand, resulting in a natural increase (live births minus deaths) of 19,071
• there were 1,932 fewer births and 690 fewer deaths compared with the year ended December 2022
• the infant mortality rate was 3.5 deaths per 1,000 live births
• the total fertility rate was 1.56, down from 1.66 in the year ended December 2022.

Abridged life tables for 2021-2023 show:

• life expectancy was 80.3 years for newborn boys and 83.7 years for newborn girls
• life expectancy dropped slightly compared with the 2020-2022 abridged life tables.

Births in 2023 dropped to lowest in 20 years

There were 56,955 live births registered in New Zealand in 2023, which was 1,932 (3.3 percent) fewer than in 2022.

Annual births have been below 60,000 since 2016. Annual fluctuations in births reflect changes in the size and age structure of the population, the age at which women have children, and the number of children they have. In turn, the number of births influences the future size and age structure of the population.

Fertility rates highest for women aged 30-34 years

Age-specific fertility (or birth) rates measure the number of live births that 1,000 women in a particular age group have in a given period (usually a year).

Fertility rates have generally been decreasing over the last decade, particularly for women aged under 30 years. Between 2013 and 2023 the number of births per 1,000 women in an age group decreased by:

• 11 live births per 1,000 women aged 15-19 years, down to 10.9 births per 1,000, from 21.6
• 22 live births per 1,000 women aged 20-24 years, down to 46.1 births, from 68.5
• 25 live births per 1,000 women aged 25-29 years, down to 82.2 births, from 106.8
• 18 live births per 1,000 women aged 30-34 years, down to 100.6 births, from 118.1 (this group has had the highest fertility rate since 2002)
• 10 live births per 1,000 women aged 35-39 years, down to 59.4 births, from 69.8
• 1 live birth per 1,000 women aged 40-44 years, down to 13.5 births, from 14.6.

Total fertility rate drops to 1.56 – the lowest on record

The total fertility rate (TFR) summarises the age-specific fertility rates into a single-number indicator of fertility. It shows the average number of babies that women would have in their life if the age-specific fertility rates in a given period stayed the same throughout their lives. Annual fluctuations in the TFR do not necessarily indicate changes in average family size but may indicate changes in the timing of births.

In 2023, the TFR decreased to 1.56 births per woman, from 1.66 in 2022, 1.64 in 2021, and 1.61 in 2020. The lower fertility rate is driven by a combination of fewer births and an increased number of women of reproductive age.

The TFR was relatively stable from 1980 to around 2012, averaging 2.02 births per woman and ranging from 1.89 births per woman (in 1998 and 2002) to 2.19 (in 2008). Since 2013, the TFR has generally been decreasing and has been below 1.8 since 2018.

New Zealand’s fertility rate has not always been stable or decreasing. For example, fertility rates increased dramatically following the Great Depression and World War II, peaking at 4.31 births per woman in 1961. New Zealand experienced decreasing fertility over the next two decades.

Parenting and fertility trends in New Zealand: 2018 has more information on changes in fertility rates.

Fertility is defined demographically as the actual level of reproduction of the population based on the number of live births that occur. This is different to fecundity, which is the biological capacity of a population to bear children.

The TFR in New Zealand is now below replacement level. The replacement level refers to a TFR of 2.1 in New Zealand, which equates to the average number of children per woman that would be sufficient for the population to replace itself in the long term, without migration.

Births today are influenced by the number of women born 20-40 years earlier. As such, although fertility is below replacement level, natural increase added 19,071 people in 2023, though this is likely to decrease in the future -2073). Without migration, this could lead to population decrease. However, New Zealand also usually has net migration gains in most years.

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 March 2024 will be released on 15 May 2024.