Causes of death in New Zealand
By broad category, 2021, number of deaths (across all ages)
| Cause of death | Number of deaths |
|---|---|
| Chapter 1 Certain infectious and parasitic diseases | 321 |
| Chapter 2 Neoplasms | 10,571 |
| Chapter 3 Diseases of blood and blood-forming organs and certain disorders involving the immune mechanism | 87 |
| Chapter 4 Endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases | 1,321 |
| Chapter 5 Mental and behavioural diseases | 2,525 |
| Chapter 6 Diseases of the nervous system | 1,939 |
| Chapter 8 Diseases of the ear and mastoid process | 1 |
| Chapter 9 Diseases of the circulatory system | 10,292 |
| Chapter 10 Diseases of the respiratory system | 2,656 |
| Chapter 11 Diseases of the digestive system | 1,186 |
| Chapter 12 Diseases of the skin and subcutaneous tissue | 119 |
| Chapter 13 Diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue | 276 |
| Chapter 14 Diseases of the genitourinary system | 514 |
| Chapter 15 Pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium | 3 |
| Chapter 16 Certain conditions originating in the perinatal period | 175 |
| Chapter 17 Congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities | 185 |
| Chapter 18 Symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified | 601 |
| Chapter 20 External cause of morbidity and mortality | 2,211 |
For more information
Limitations of the data
The figures reported here are provisional and will be finalised next year.
Data provided by
Dataset name
Mortality Collection: ICD Chapter and ICD Subgroup dataset 2021
Webpage:
https://tewhatuora.shinyapps.io/mortality-web-tool/
How to find the data
At URL provided, in the 'ICD Chapter and Subgroup (2012–2021)' tab, under 'Download the datasets' heading, select the file 'mortality_Chapt_Subgrp_Table.txt'.
Figure.nz have converted to excel format and shorten rows (years 2014-2021) for processing purposes.
Import & extraction details
File as imported: Mortality Collection: ICD Chapter and ICD Subgroup dataset 2021
From the dataset Mortality Collection: ICD Chapter and ICD Subgroup dataset 2021, this data was extracted:
- Sheet: Sheet1
- Range:
J2:J987998 - Provided: 7,158 data points
This data forms the table Health - Mortality by broad cause, age group and sex 2014–2021.
Dataset originally released on:
December 21, 2023
About this dataset
The Mortality Collection (MORT) classifies the underlying cause of death for all deaths registered in New Zealand, and all registerable stillbirths (fetal deaths).
Purpose of collection
The Mortality Collection was established to provide data on causes of death for New Zealand’s vital statistics, for public health research, policy formulation, monitoring the effectiveness of health programmes, and cancer survival studies. A dataset of each year’s mortality data is sent to the World Health Organization to be used in international comparisons of mortality statistics.
Method of collection/Data provider
Each month Births, Deaths, and Marriages (BDM) sends National Collections and Reporting electronic death registration and stillbirth registration data. The registration data is matched to Certificates of Causes of Death (HP4720 and HP4721), sent in by funeral directors, and coroners’ reports supplied by the Coronial Services Unit.
Additional information on underlying cause of death is obtained from hospital discharge data in the National Minimum Dataset (NMDS), the New Zealand Cancer Registry (NZCR), the NZ Transport Agency, Water Safety NZ, the Internet, and from writing letters to certifying doctors, coroners, and medical records officers in public hospitals.