Suicide data web tool

The suicide data web tool presents data on confirmed suicides reported by Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora, as well as data on suspected intentionally self-inflicted deaths reported by the Chief Coroner.

Numbers and rates of suicide deaths are presented by year, ethnicity, sex, age group and district of residence of the deceased.

In Aotearoa New Zealand, suicide data is reported both by Health New Zealand and the Chief Coroner.

The Chief Coroner releases data on suspected intentionally self-inflicted deaths, including those where a coroner has not yet established if the death was from intentional self-harm.

Health New Zealand releases official suicide data, comprising suicide deaths that have been confirmed to be suicide by the Chief Coroner, in addition to deaths provisionally coded as suicide, when enough information has been received to suggest that the eventual confirmed cause will be suicide.

The web tool contains data for confirmed suicides up to 2020, and suspected intentionally self-inflicted deaths up to the 2023/24 financial year. Data on suspected intentionally self-inflicted deaths is available from the Chief Coroner two to three years before confirmed suicide data is complete enough to be released by Health New Zealand.

Health New Zealand waits to publish confirmed suicide information until such time as coroners have completed most investigations.

Numbers of suspected intentionally self-inflicted deaths reported by the Chief Coroner are generally higher than the confirmed numbers of suicide deaths reported by Health New Zealand, as some suspected intentionally self-inflicted deaths will later be found not to be suicides.

Overview

• In the 2023/24 financial year, there were 617 suspected self-inflicted deaths in Aotearoa New Zealand. The age-standardised rate of suspected self-inflicted deaths was 11.2 (95% CI: 10.3, 12.1) per 100,000 population.
• The rate of suspected self-inflicted deaths in the 2023/24 financial year was 3.6% lower than the average rate of suspected self-inflicted deaths over the last 15 financial years. This was not a statistically significant difference.
• Suicide rates are highly variable, so a statistically significant change in one year compared with an average over time does not mean that the overall trend has changed.
• Māori experience high rates of suspected self-inflicted deaths. In the 2022/23 financial year, the rate of suspected self-inflicted deaths for Māori was 16.3 per 100,000 Māori population. This compares to a rate of 9.0 for non-Māori.

By Māori/non-Māori

Note: Māori population estimates for 2023/24 are not currently available, and therefore rates have not been calculated for this financial year. 

• From the 2008/09 financial year to the 2022/23 financial year, Māori males had the highest rates of suspected self-inflicted deaths.
• In the 2022/23 financial year, the rate of suspected self-inflicted deaths for Māori males was 24.8 per 100,000 Māori male population. This was about 2 times that of non-Māori males, who had a rate of 12.7 per 100,000 non-Māori male population. In the same financial year, the rate of suspected self-inflicted deaths for Māori females was 8.1 per 100,000 Māori female population. This was about 1.5 times that of non-Māori females, who had a rate of 5.5 per 100,000 non-Māori female population.
• In the 2022/23 financial year, the difference in rates of suspected self-inflicted deaths between Māori and non-Māori was most notable in the 25–44 years age group. In this financial year, the rate for Māori in the 25–44 years age group was about 2.6 times that for non-Māori in the same age group (30.2 vs 11.8 per 100,000 25–44 age group population).

By prioritised ethnicity

• The rate of suspected self-inflicted deaths per 100,000 Māori population in the 2023/24 financial year was 16.3 (95% CI: 13.6, 19.0). This was not a statistically significant change from the average of the past 15 years.
• The rate of suspected self-inflicted deaths per 100,000 Pacific population in the 2023/24 financial year was 7.7 (95% CI: 4.9, 10.5). This was not a statistically significant change from the average of the past 15 years.
• The rate of suspected self-inflicted deaths per 100,000 Asian population in the 2023/24 financial year was 4.8 (95% CI: 3.4, 6.1). This was not a statistically significant change from the average of the past 15 years.
• The ethnic category 'Other' includes anyone who does not identify with Māori, Pacific, or Asian ethnic groups. This includes European, Middle-Eastern, Latin American, African, and other ethnic groups. The rate of suspected self-inflicted deaths per 100,000 Other population in the 2023/24 financial year was 12.1 (95% CI: 10.9, 13.3). This was not a statistically significant change from the average of the past 15 years.

By sex

• In the 2023/24 financial year, there were 445 male suspected self-inflicted deaths and 172 female suspected self-inflicted deaths.
• In the 2023/24 financial year, the rate of suspected self-inflicted deaths for males was 15.9 per 100,000 males, and the rate of suspected self-inflicted deaths for females was 6.4 per 100,000 females.
• In the 2023/24 financial year, the age-standardised rate of suspected self-inflicted deaths for males was not a statistically significant change from the average of the last 15 financial years.
• In the same time period, the age-standardised rate of suspected self-inflicted deaths for females was not a statistically significant change from the average of the last 15 financial years.

In this web tool, the confirmed suicide numbers and all rates have been recalculated to reflect ongoing updates to data in the New Zealand Mortality Collection (for example, following the release of coroners' findings) and the revision of population estimates.

This has resulted in small changes to some numbers and rates from those reported in previous publications.

This web tool presents data to the latest year for which data is available for publication.

We have quality checked the collection, extraction, and reporting of the data presented here.

However, errors can occur. Please contact us through the Data Services team at Health New Zealand if you have any concerns regarding any of the data or analyses presented here.

Health New Zealand makes no warranty, expressed or implied, nor assumes legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, correctness or use of the information or data in this tool.