🇳🇿Life expectancy in New Zealand

Key numbers

New Zealand among its neighbours

Rough years remaining by age

This is a rough approximation. We do not have life tables for New Zealand, so we subtract age from life expectancy at birth. Real remaining life expectancy is higher, especially at 50 and 60, because someone who has reached that age has already survived the risks of childhood and young adulthood. In high-income countries a 60-year-old typically has 4 to 6 more years than this table shows.

In plain language

A child born in New Zealand today, if death rates at every age stayed exactly as they are, would live 82.1 years on average. Girls would get 3.4 more years than boys. That places New Zealand 28th of the 200 countries we track, 8.9 years above the global figure of 73.2.

The gap to Hong Kong, the best in our data, is 3.4 years. Most of that difference comes from deaths before 60, not from how long the oldest people live.

Questions

What is the life expectancy in New Zealand?

82.1 years at birth for both sexes combined, by the UN's 2024 estimate. Men can expect 80.4 years and women 83.8. The figure describes today's death rates applied across a whole life, so a child born now will probably live longer if mortality keeps falling.

How much longer do women live than men in New Zealand?

3.4 years. The global figure gap is 5.4 years, so New Zealand's gap is narrower than usual. Wide gaps usually trace back to male smoking, drinking and accidents; narrow ones to women facing similar risks or poorer maternal health.

How does New Zealand compare to Hong Kong?

Hong Kong has the highest life expectancy in our data at 85.5 years, 3.4 years more than New Zealand. For men the difference is 2.4 years, for women 4.3.

How does New Zealand compare to Guadeloupe?

Guadeloupe ranks 27th at 82.1 years, 0.0 years more than New Zealand. Men: 78.1 against 80.4. Women: 85.5 against 83.8.