Students completing doctoral degrees in New Zealand
By whether domestic or international, 1999–2024
| Year | Student origin | Number of people |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Domestic | 420 |
| 2000 | Domestic | 425 |
| 2001 | Domestic | 415 |
| 2002 | Domestic | 450 |
| 2003 | Domestic | 495 |
| 2004 | Domestic | 540 |
| 2005 | Domestic | 565 |
| 2006 | Domestic | 565 |
| 2007 | Domestic | 565 |
| 2008 | Domestic | 655 |
| 2009 | Domestic | 675 |
| 2010 | Domestic | 725 |
| 2011 | Domestic | 700 |
| 2012 | Domestic | 645 |
| 2013 | Domestic | 745 |
| 2014 | Domestic | 775 |
| 2015 | Domestic | 685 |
| 2016 | Domestic | 675 |
| 2017 | Domestic | 775 |
| 2018 | Domestic | 715 |
| 2019 | Domestic | 710 |
| 2020 | Domestic | 695 |
| 2021 | Domestic | 735 |
| 2022 | Domestic | 670 |
| 2023 | Domestic | 675 |
| 2024 | Domestic | 810 |
| 1999 | International | 50 |
| 2000 | International | 35 |
| 2001 | International | 35 |
| 2002 | International | 45 |
| 2003 | International | 45 |
| 2004 | International | 75 |
| 2005 | International | 75 |
| 2006 | International | 75 |
| 2007 | International | 85 |
| 2008 | International | 145 |
| 2009 | International | 210 |
| 2010 | International | 290 |
| 2011 | International | 415 |
| 2012 | International | 425 |
| 2013 | International | 565 |
| 2014 | International | 665 |
| 2015 | International | 660 |
| 2016 | International | 650 |
| 2017 | International | 730 |
| 2018 | International | 725 |
| 2019 | International | 780 |
| 2020 | International | 845 |
| 2021 | International | 995 |
| 2022 | International | 890 |
| 2023 | International | 800 |
| 2024 | International | 785 |
Notes
International students are those studying here without New Zealand/Australian citizenship or permanent residence status. Students studying off-shore at tertiary education providers that are registered in New Zealand are considered international students unless they hold New Zealand citizenship.
Data calculation/treatment
Data have been rounded to the nearest 5 to protect the privacy of individuals.
Inclusions
Doctoral degrees include PhDs and other doctorates but exclude higher doctorates.
Data provided by
Dataset name
Tertiary Education Research: Research Performance 2025
Webpage:
http://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/statistics/tertiary-education/research
How to find the data
At URL provided, select 'Research performance' Excel file.
Import & extraction details
File as imported: Tertiary Education Research: Research Performance 2025
From the dataset Tertiary Education Research: Research Performance 2025, this data was extracted:
- Sheet: RSP.8
- Range:
C5:AC7 - Provided: 81 data points
This data forms the table Tertiary Education - Students completing doctoral degrees by whether domestic or international 1998–2024.
Dataset originally released on:
November 2025
About this dataset
This dataset includes statistics relating to the nature and amount of research undertaken in tertiary education.