New Zealand has registered slightly fewer live births and deaths in the year ending June 2024, compared to the year ending June 2023, according to new data from Stats NZ.
According to the organisation, 57,006 live births were registered in the year ended June 2024, down from 57,534 in June 2023.
In that same period of 12 months, 37,500 deaths were registered, down from 38,346.
The total fertility rate was 1.53 births per woman, down from 1.60.
The infant mortality rate was 4.95 deaths per 1000 live births, up from 3.55 per 1000 in June 2023.
Stats NZ partly attributed the higher infant death rate to around 30 additional infant deaths registered in this period, even though those deaths occurred between 2016 and 2022.
"Around 10% of the infant deaths registered in the June 2024 year occurred more than two years before registration. In the June 2023 year, only 0.5% of infant deaths were registered more than two years after they occurred," it said.
Country's population up
Stats NZ also released the country's national population estimates as of June 30, 2024, in which the country's population continued to grow — hitting the provisional number of 5,338,500.
Estimated natural increase (births minus deaths) was 20,300 (22 percent of total growth)
During the year to June 2024, the population grew by 93,500 (1.8%). Around 20,300 of those were thanks to natural increase, and 73,300 arrived from net migration.
There were 2,681,700 females and 2,656,900 males, with the average age being 39.0 for females and 37.2 for males.
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