Number of children under 5 in New Zealand
New Zealand: Number of children under 5 was 298,070 people in 2023. ▲ Rising
Number of children under 5 in New Zealand, 1950–2023
Source: UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in people.
Analysis
The most recent figure for number of children under 5 in New Zealand is 298,070 people, measured in 2023.
That represents a change of down 0.4% on the previous year and down 4.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of children under 5 in New Zealand peaked at 316,253 people in 2011 and was at its lowest, 230,640 people, in 1950.
New Zealand ranks 126th 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 | 252,806 people | 230,640 people | 281,044 people | 10 |
| 1960s | 301,488 people | 289,092 people | 309,893 people | 10 |
| 1970s | 292,412 people | 263,160 people | 305,379 people | 10 |
| 1980s | 254,987 people | 249,727 people | 267,163 people | 10 |
| 1990s | 290,705 people | 276,758 people | 296,668 people | 10 |
| 2000s | 288,626 people | 281,292 people | 307,473 people | 10 |
| 2010s | 309,221 people | 305,032 people | 316,253 people | 10 |
| 2020s | 301,443 people | 298,070 people | 305,620 people | 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 number of children under 5 in New Zealand?
- Number of children under 5 in New Zealand was 298,070 people in 2023, according to UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest number of children under 5 recorded in New Zealand?
- The highest recorded value was 316,253 people in 2011.
- What is the lowest number of children under 5 recorded in New Zealand?
- The lowest recorded value was 230,640 people in 1950.
- How does New Zealand rank for number of children under 5?
- New Zealand ranks 126th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
- Is number of children under 5 rising or falling in New Zealand?
- Over the last ten years it is down 4.5%. 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 Number of children under 5. 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 total population, measured on 1 July of the year shown. This only includes people aged 0-4.