Age dependency breakdown in New Zealand
New Zealand: Age dependency breakdown was 25.9% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Age dependency breakdown in New Zealand, 1950–2023
Source: UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
New Zealand recorded 25.9% for age dependency breakdown in 2023. That is the highest value across all 74 years on record.
That represents a change of up 2.3% on the previous year and up 20.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, age dependency breakdown in New Zealand peaked at 25.9% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 14.1%, in 1966.
New Zealand ranks 60th of 236 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 74 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 15.0% | 14.7% | 15.2% | 10 |
| 1960s | 14.3% | 14.1% | 14.8% | 10 |
| 1970s | 14.5% | 14.2% | 15.2% | 10 |
| 1980s | 15.9% | 15.4% | 16.6% | 10 |
| 1990s | 17.4% | 16.8% | 17.8% | 10 |
| 2000s | 18.3% | 17.9% | 19.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 21.7% | 19.6% | 23.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 24.9% | 23.9% | 25.9% | 4 |
Countries ranked near New Zealand
More reference data data for New Zealand
- Spring temperature anomalies 0.2008 °C (2026)
- Summer temperature anomalies 1.76 °C (2026)
- Temperature anomalies by month 0.0464 °C (2026)
- Universal right to vote in practice 2 (2025)
- Autumn temperature anomalies 0.5251 °C (2025)
- Winter temperature anomalies 0.5536 °C (2025)
- Consumer price index 144.86 2010 = 100 (2025)
- Universal right to vote 2 (2025)
- Competitive elections 1 (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote 1 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is age dependency breakdown in New Zealand?
- Age dependency breakdown in New Zealand was 25.9% in 2023, according to UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest age dependency breakdown recorded in New Zealand?
- The highest recorded value was 25.9% in 2023.
- What is the lowest age dependency breakdown recorded in New Zealand?
- The lowest recorded value was 14.1% in 1966.
- How does New Zealand rank for age dependency breakdown?
- New Zealand ranks 60th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
- Is age dependency breakdown rising or falling in New Zealand?
- Over the last ten years it is up 20.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this New Zealand data come from?
- The figures come from UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Age dependency breakdown. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 74 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
The number of people aged 65 and over per 100 working-age people (aged 15 to 64).