Potential years of life lost in New Zealand

New Zealand: Potential years of life lost was 3,884 Years per 100 000 persons in 2020. β–Ό Falling

Latest (2020)
3,884 Years per 100 000 persons
Change on year
down 7.9%
World rank
20th
of 36 countries
All-time high
11,761 Years per 100 000 persons
in 1961
All-time low
3,884 Years per 100 000 persons
in 2020
Years of data
61
1960–2020

Potential years of life lost in New Zealand, 1960–2020

4.0k6.0k8.0k10.0k12.0k196019902020

Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Years per 100 000 persons.

Analysis

The most recent figure for potential years of life lost in New Zealand is 3,884 Years per 100 000 persons, measured in 2020. That is the lowest value across all 61 years on record.

The figure is down 7.9% on the previous year and down 14.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, potential years of life lost in New Zealand peaked at 11,761 Years per 100 000 persons in 1961 and was at its lowest, 3,884 Years per 100 000 persons, in 2020.

New Zealand ranks 20th of 36 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 61 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s 11,317 Years per 100 000 persons 11,081 Years per 100 000 persons 11,761 Years per 100 000 persons 10
1970s 10,561 Years per 100 000 persons 9,780 Years per 100 000 persons 11,409 Years per 100 000 persons 10
1980s 8,919 Years per 100 000 persons 8,306 Years per 100 000 persons 9,750 Years per 100 000 persons 10
1990s 6,907 Years per 100 000 persons 6,047 Years per 100 000 persons 8,015 Years per 100 000 persons 10
2000s 5,197 Years per 100 000 persons 4,775 Years per 100 000 persons 5,752 Years per 100 000 persons 10
2010s 4,258 Years per 100 000 persons 4,066 Years per 100 000 persons 4,582 Years per 100 000 persons 10
2020s 3,884 Years per 100 000 persons 3,884 Years per 100 000 persons 3,884 Years per 100 000 persons 1

Countries ranked near New Zealand

  1. 17 United Kingdom 4,273 Years per 100 000 persons compare
  2. 18 Germany 4,157 Years per 100 000 persons compare
  3. 19 Portugal 4,102 Years per 100 000 persons compare
  4. 21 Belgium 3,845 Years per 100 000 persons compare
  5. 22 France 3,801 Years per 100 000 persons compare
  6. 23 Finland 3,702 Years per 100 000 persons compare

See the full ranking of 46 places β†’

More reference data data for New Zealand

All data for New Zealand β†’

Frequently asked questions

What is potential years of life lost in New Zealand?
Potential years of life lost in New Zealand was 3,884 Years per 100 000 persons in 2020, according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
What is the highest potential years of life lost recorded in New Zealand?
The highest recorded value was 11,761 Years per 100 000 persons in 1961.
What is the lowest potential years of life lost recorded in New Zealand?
The lowest recorded value was 3,884 Years per 100 000 persons in 2020.
How does New Zealand rank for potential years of life lost?
New Zealand ranks 20th out of 36 countries with data for 2020.
Is potential years of life lost rising or falling in New Zealand?
Over the last ten years it is down 14.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this New Zealand data come from?
The figures come from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as part of Potential years of life lost. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Potential years of life lost in New Zealand. Statizoid, drawing on Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Retrieved 21 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/potential-years-of-life-lost/new-zealand/

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About this data

Indicator
Potential years of life lost
Unit
Years per 100 000 persons
Source
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Licence
OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required)
Coverage
46 places, 2,490 data points, 1960–2024
Last refreshed

Potential Years of Life Lost (PYLL) is a summary measure of premature mortality which provides an explicit way of weighting deaths occurring at younger ages, which are, a priori, preventable. The calculation of PYLL involves summing up deaths occurring at each age and multiplying this with the number of remaining years to live up to a selected age limit. The limit of 75 years has been chosen for the calculations in OECD Health Statistics. The selected ICD categories presented in the OECD Health Statistics database are detailed in an Excel file available for download, with codes according to the Tenth revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) along with codes from other ICD revisions used in the WHO Mortality Database. Please refer to the Sources and Methods for detailed country-specific information.