Health at a Glance 2025: New Zealand
Table of contents
Health at a Glance provides a comprehensive set of indicators on population health and health system performance across OECD Members, Key Partners and accession candidate countries. These indicators cover health status, non-medical determinants and risk factors, access to and quality of healthcare, health spending and health system resources. Analysis draws from the latest comparable official national statistics and other sources.
This country note shows how New Zealand compares to other OECD countries across a selection of key indicators from the report.
New Zealand performs better than the OECD average on 6 out of 10 key indicators measuring health status and risk factors for health (missing data on 3 of these indicators).
Source: OECD Health Statistics 2025.
Health status
In New Zealand, life expectancy was 82 years, 0.9 years above the OECD average.
No comparable data are available on treatable and preventable mortality.
Suicide rates were 13 per 100 000 population in New Zealand, compared to the OECD average of 11 deaths per 100 000 population.
2.9% of people in New Zealand rated their health as bad or very bad (OECD average 8.0%).
Risk factors for health
Daily smoking prevalence in New Zealand, at 6.9%, was lower than the OECD average of 14.8%.
Alcohol consumption was similar to the OECD average; at 8.2 litres per capita in New Zealand versus 8.5.
21% of adults in New Zealand did not perform sufficient physical activity, lower than the OECD average of 30%.
No comparable data are available on self-reported obesity prevalence.
People in New Zealand were exposed to 6.3 micrograms of ambient particulate matter (PM2.5) per cubic metre (OECD average 11.2 micrograms).
See Health at a Glance 2025, Chapter 3 and Chapter 4 for further details on these and related indicators.
New Zealand performs better than the OECD average on 4 out of 10 key indicators measuring access to and quality of care (missing data on 4 of these indicators).
Note: AMI: Acute Myocardial Infarction. DDD: Defined Daily Dose.
Source: OECD Health Statistics 2025.
Access to care
In New Zealand, all of the population is covered for a core set of services, while 98% of population is covered on average of OECD countries.
63% of people in New Zealand were satisfied with the availability of quality healthcare (OECD average 64%).
No comparable data are available on financial coverage for healthcare.
No comparable data are available on unmet needs.
Quality of care
89% of eligible children were vaccinated against DTP in New Zealand, lower than the OECD average.
68% of women in New Zealand were screened for breast cancer, higher than the OECD average of 55%.
No comparable data are available on antibiotic prescriptions.
No comparable data are available on avoidable admissions.
In New Zealand, 30‑day mortality after AMI was 4.6% (OECD average 6.5%), and 6.7% after stroke (OECD average 7.7%), based on unlinked data.
See Health at a Glance 2025, Chapter 5 and Chapter 6 for further details on these and related indicators.
New Zealand has more resources than the OECD average on 5 out of 10 key indicators measuring health system resources (missing data on 2 of these indicators).
Note: CT: Computer Tomography; MRI: Magnetic Resonance Imaging; PET: Positron Emission Tomography.
Source: OECD Health Statistics 2025.
Health spending
New Zealand spends $6 097 per capita on health, more than the OECD average of $5 967 (USD PPP).
This is equal to 10.1% of GDP, compared to 9.3% on average in the OECD.
No comparable data are available on share of spending on prevention in current health expenditure.
Health workforce
There are 3.7 practising doctors per 1 000 population in New Zealand (OECD average 3.9); and 11.7 practising nurses (OECD average 9.2).
No comparable data are available on long-term care workers.
There are 71 pharmacists per 100 000 population in New Zealand, compared to the OECD average of 86.
Hospitals and equipment
New Zealand has 2.5 hospital beds per 1 000 population, less than the OECD average of 4.2.
There are 65 CT scanners, MRI units and PET scanners per million population in New Zealand (OECD average 51).
The share of generics in the pharmaceutical market (by volume) is 76% in New Zealand, compared to the OECD average of 56%.
See Health at a Glance 2025, Chapter 5, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9 and Chapter 10 for further details on these and related indicators.
Health at a Glance provides a comprehensive set of indicators on population health and health system performance across OECD Members, Key Partners and accession candidate countries. These indicators cover health status, non-medical determinants and risk factors, access to and quality of healthcare, health spending and health system resources. Analysis draws from the latest comparable official national statistics and other sources.
Alongside indicator-by-indicator analysis, an overview chapter summarises the comparative performance of countries and major trends. This edition also includes a thematic chapter on gender and health.
This work is published under the responsibility of the Secretary-General of the OECD. The opinions expressed and arguments employed herein do not necessarily reflect the official views of the Member countries of the OECD.
This document, as well as any data and map included herein, are without prejudice to the status of or sovereignty over any territory, to the delimitation of international frontiers and boundaries and to the name of any territory, city or area.
The statistical data for Israel are supplied by and under the responsibility of the relevant Israeli authorities. The use of such data by the OECD is without prejudice to the status of the Golan Heights, East Jerusalem and Israeli settlements in the West Bank under the terms of international law.
The full book is available in English: OECD (2025), Health at a Glance 2025, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/8f9e3f98-en.
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