Statizoid

Median age in New Zealand

New Zealand: Median age was 37.28 years in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
37.28 years
Change on year
up 0.6%
World rank
81st
of 236 countries
All-time high
37.28 years
in 2023
All-time low
24.61 years
in 1970
Years of data
74
1950–2023

Median age in New Zealand, 1950–2023

010203040195019862023

Source: UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in years.

Analysis

New Zealand recorded 37.28 years for median age in 2023. That is the highest value across all 74 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.6% on the previous year and up 2.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, median age in New Zealand peaked at 37.28 years in 2023 and was at its lowest, 24.61 years, in 1970.

That places New Zealand 81st out of 236 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 74 years of available data.

Median age in New Zealand, year by year

Year years Change
1950 28.43 years —
1951 28.31 years -0.4%
1952 28.18 years -0.5%
1953 28.04 years -0.5%
1954 27.9 years -0.5%
1955 27.75 years -0.5%
1956 27.58 years -0.6%
1957 27.38 years -0.7%
1958 27.13 years -0.9%
1959 26.84 years -1.1%
1960 26.51 years -1.3%
1961 26.12 years -1.4%
1962 25.73 years -1.5%
1963 25.38 years -1.4%
1964 25.08 years -1.2%
1965 24.88 years -0.8%
1966 24.79 years -0.4%
1967 24.76 years -0.1%
1968 24.71 years -0.2%
1969 24.65 years -0.3%
1970 24.61 years -0.1%
1971 24.66 years +0.2%
1972 24.76 years +0.4%
1973 24.92 years +0.6%
1974 25.11 years +0.8%
1975 25.31 years +0.8%
1976 25.54 years +0.9%
1977 25.82 years +1.1%
1978 26.16 years +1.3%
1979 26.51 years +1.3%
1980 26.85 years +1.3%
1981 27.19 years +1.3%
1982 27.5 years +1.1%
1983 27.77 years +1.0%
1984 28.06 years +1.0%
1985 28.41 years +1.2%
1986 28.79 years +1.3%
1987 29.11 years +1.1%
1988 29.42 years +1.1%
1989 29.76 years +1.1%
1990 30.06 years +1.0%
1991 30.35 years +1.0%
1992 30.67 years +1.1%
1993 30.99 years +1.0%
1994 31.3 years +1.0%
1995 31.61 years +1.0%
1996 31.91 years +1.0%
1997 32.23 years +1.0%
1998 32.6 years +1.1%
1999 32.98 years +1.2%
2000 33.34 years +1.1%
2001 33.63 years +0.9%
2002 33.83 years +0.6%
2003 34.01 years +0.5%
2004 34.24 years +0.7%
2005 34.53 years +0.8%
2006 34.84 years +0.9%
2007 35.14 years +0.9%
2008 35.43 years +0.8%
2009 35.67 years +0.7%
2010 35.88 years +0.6%
2011 36.12 years +0.6%
2012 36.35 years +0.7%
2013 36.51 years +0.4%
2014 36.51 years +0.0%
2015 36.39 years -0.3%
2016 36.25 years -0.4%
2017 36.18 years -0.2%
2018 36.2 years +0.0%
2019 36.29 years +0.2%
2020 36.46 years +0.5%
2021 36.77 years +0.9%
2022 37.07 years +0.8%
2023 37.28 years +0.6%

New Zealand compared with similar countries

  • New Zealand's 37.28 years is below the median for high income countries, which is 39.36 years, 95% of the median. (85 countries reporting)
  • New Zealand's 37.28 years is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 29.83 years, 1.2× the median. (37 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1950s 27.75 years 26.84 years 28.43 years 10
1960s 25.26 years 24.65 years 26.51 years 10
1970s 25.34 years 24.61 years 26.51 years 10
1980s 28.29 years 26.85 years 29.76 years 10
1990s 31.47 years 30.06 years 32.98 years 10
2000s 34.47 years 33.34 years 35.67 years 10
2010s 36.27 years 35.88 years 36.51 years 10
2020s 36.9 years 36.46 years 37.28 years 4

Countries ranked near New Zealand

  1. 78 Australia 37.75 years compare
  2. 79 British Virgin Islands 37.55 years compare
  3. 80 Reunion 37.43 years compare
  4. 82 Faroe Islands 37.26 years compare
  5. 83 Wallis and Futuna 37.17 years compare
  6. 84 Mauritius 36.93 years compare

See the full ranking of 236 places →

More reference data data for New Zealand

All data for New Zealand →

Frequently asked questions

What is median age in New Zealand?
Median age in New Zealand was 37.28 years in 2023, according to UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest median age recorded in New Zealand?
The highest recorded value was 37.28 years in 2023.
What is the lowest median age recorded in New Zealand?
The lowest recorded value was 24.61 years in 1970.
How does New Zealand rank for median age?
New Zealand ranks 81st out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
Is median age rising or falling in New Zealand?
Over the last ten years it is up 2.1%. 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 Median age. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Median age in New Zealand. Statizoid, drawing on UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 22 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/median-age/new-zealand/

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About this data

Indicator
Median age
Unit
years
Source
UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
236 places, 17,464 data points, 1950–2023
Last refreshed

Age that divides the population into two halves of equal size — half are younger and half are older.