COVID-19: Case demographics
Full details of the confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 in New Zealand.
This data is updated weekly. All data on this page relates to cases recorded prior to 11.59pm 15 December 2024.
Pātiki and Waharua Kōpito patterns
On this page
- Hospitalisation and ICU care for COVID-19
- Cases by age group
- Cases by ethnicity
- Case demographics - all COVID-19 cases
- COVID-19 and ethnicity
- COVID-19 by age and sex
- COVID-19 cases by age group
- Cases by sex
- Details of COVID-19 deaths
- Age and ethnicity of deaths within 28 days of being reported as a case
- Age and ethnicity of deaths where COVID-19 is officially coded as the underlying cause
- Details of past cases
Last updated 2pm 16 December 2024.
This data is updated weekly. All data on this page relates to cases recorded prior to 11:59 pm 15 December 2024.
Hospitalisation and ICU care for COVID-19
Cases by sex
| Sex | Total cases | Hospitalisations for COVID-19 | ICU care for COVID-19 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Female | 1506548 | 22201 | 508 |
| Male | 1200510 | 22209 | 800 |
| Unknown | 2837 | 15 | 1 |
| Total | 2709895 | 44425 | 1309 |
Cases by age group
| Age group | Total cases | Hospitalisations for COVID-19 | ICU care for COVID-19 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 to 9 | 227939 | 4844 | 93 |
| 10 to 19 | 333107 | 1218 | 31 |
| 20 to 29 | 438967 | 2235 | 30 |
| 30 to 39 | 455606 | 2760 | 76 |
| 40 to 49 | 389541 | 2848 | 126 |
| 50 to 59 | 348493 | 4191 | 189 |
| 60 to 69 | 261623 | 6033 | 299 |
| 70+ | 254570 | 20296 | 465 |
| Unknown | 49 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 2709895 | 44425 | 1309 |
Cases by ethnicity
| Prioritised ethnicity* | Total cases | Hospitalisations for COVID-19 | ICU care for COVID-19 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Māori | 389562 | 7108 | 271 |
| Pacific Peoples | 206177 | 4686 | 163 |
| Asian | 384903 | 4206 | 98 |
| Middle Eastern, Latin American and African (MELAA) | 45890 | 697 | 11 |
| European or Other | 1666551 | 27627 | 760 |
| Unknown | 16812 | 101 | 6 |
| Total | 2709895 | 44425 | 1309 |
*The prioritised ethnicity classification system is used in this table and below. This means each person is allocated to a single ethnic group, based on the ethnic groups they identify with. Where people identify with more than one group, they are assigned in this order of priority: Māori, Pacific Peoples, Asian, and European or Other. So, if a person identifies as being Māori and New Zealand European, the person is counted as Māori.
Ngā tapuae me ngā raraunga: Methods and data sources
The data categorized by ethnicity come from National Health Index (NHI) data collection, linked to data held in the EpiSurv database.
Case demographics - all COVID-19 cases
COVID-19 and ethnicity
Total cases and tests by ethnicity
| Total cases since first NZ case | Total tests for COVID-19 to date | |
|---|---|---|
| Māori | 389562 | 1,269,653 |
| Pacific Peoples | 206177 | 981,886 |
| Asian | 384903 | 1,364,440 |
| European or Other | 1712441 | 4,402,231 |
| Unknown | 16812 | 367,878 |
| Total | 2709895 | 8,386,088 |
Note: This table shows the number of tests, and some people are tested more than once.
Cases by ethnicity
Cases of COVID-19 by ethnicity
| Ethnicity | Active (confirmed and probable) | Recovered | Deceased | Total cases since first case | Percentage of all cases |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Māori | 102 | 389063 | 397 | 389562 | 14.4% |
| Pacific Peoples | 71 | 205887 | 219 | 206177 | 7.6% |
| Asian | 159 | 384572 | 172 | 384903 | 14.2% |
| Middle Eastern, Latin American and African (MELAA) | 24 | 45847 | 19 | 45890 | 1.7% |
| European or Other | 796 | 1662080 | 3675 | 1666551 | 61.5% |
| Unknown | 4 | 16793 | 15 | 16812 | 0.6% |
| Total | 1156 | 2704242 | 4497 | 2709895 | 100% |
COVID-19 by age and sex
Cases by age
COVID-19 cases by age group
| Age group | Active (confirmed and probable) | Recovered | Deceased | Total cases | Percentage of all cases |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 to 9 | 33 | 227893 | 13 | 227939 | 8.4% |
| 10 to 19 | 30 | 333074 | 3 | 333107 | 12.3% |
| 20 to 29 | 136 | 438818 | 13 | 438967 | 16.2% |
| 30 to 39 | 168 | 455407 | 31 | 455606 | 16.8% |
| 40 to 49 | 179 | 389301 | 61 | 389541 | 14.4% |
| 50 to 59 | 193 | 348159 | 141 | 348493 | 12.9% |
| 60 to 69 | 162 | 261102 | 359 | 261623 | 9.7% |
| 70 to 79 | 165 | 160435 | 901 | 161501 | 6% |
| 80 to 89 | 72 | 72133 | 1682 | 73887 | 2.7% |
| 90+ | 18 | 17871 | 1293 | 19182 | 0.7% |
| Unknown | 0 | 49 | 0 | 49 | 0% |
| Total | 1156 | 2704242 | 4497 | 2709895 | 100% |
Cases by sex
Total cases of COVID-19 by sex
| Sex | Active (confirmed and probable) | Recovered | Deceased | Total cases | Percentage of all cases |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Female | 686 | 1503750 | 2112 | 1506548 | 56% |
| Male | 470 | 1197663 | 2377 | 1200510 | 44% |
| Unknown | 0 | 2829 | 8 | 2837 | 0% |
| Total | 1156 | 2704242 | 4497 | 2709895 | 100% |
Details of COVID-19 deaths
All deaths where someone has died within 28 days of being reported as having a positive test result for COVID-19 are now reported. This approach is in-line with that taken by other countries — such as the United Kingdom — and it ensures that all cases of COVID-19 who die are formally recorded to help provide an accurate assessment of the impact of COVID-19.
In many instances, further investigation will provide more information about the contribution of COVID-19 to their death.
This contribution can range from death not related, for instance someone with COVID-19 who dies in a car accident; to COVID-19 being a contributing cause, for example when someone dies with an existing health condition combined with COVID-19; and to COVID-19 being recorded as the cause of death.
Deaths that are still being investigated are reported as still to be classified.
Note: The "Unknown" column is currently not included in the table, yet is reflected in the row total count. We are currently reviewing our public facing COVID-19 reporting to also include 'Unknown'.
Age and ethnicity of deaths within 28 days of being reported as a case
| Age group | Māori | Pacific Peoples | Asian | European or Other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 to 59 | 166 | 67 | 45 | 271 | 552 |
| 60 to 69 | 140 | 63 | 22 | 370 | 601 |
| 70 to 79 | 171 | 89 | 61 | 1089 | 1413 |
| 80 to 89 | 141 | 100 | 105 | 2073 | 2422 |
| 90+ | 46 | 31 | 40 | 1557 | 1676 |
| Total | 664 | 350 | 273 | 5360 | 6664 |
Age and ethnicity of deaths where COVID-19 is officially coded as the underlying cause
| Age group | Māori | Pacific Peoples | Asian | European or Other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 to 59 | 38 | 20 | 13 | 39 | 110 |
| 60 to 69 | 39 | 24 | 8 | 119 | 192 |
| 70 to 79 | 65 | 25 | 25 | 412 | 529 |
| 80 to 89 | 60 | 38 | 49 | 942 | 1090 |
| 90+ | 25 | 19 | 19 | 840 | 905 |
| Total | 227 | 126 | 114 | 2352 | 2826 |
Details of past cases
We publish details about every person with COVID-19 (confirmed or probable) in a downloadable spreadsheet. For privacy reasons, this data only includes:
- Date potential case was notified
- Sex of case
- Age group of case
- District where the case lives - listed as "Managed isolation & quarantine" for border cases
- If the case is related to overseas travel
This data covers all cases from 26 February 2020 to 9 December 2024 and is available from the Ministry's COVID-19 Data GitHub repository.
COVID-19 Data GitHub repository - Ministry of Health
Researchers can request detailed data on COVID-19 in New Zealand by sending an email to the Ministry of Health COVID-19 Response and Coordination team.
Please note that all data and statistics relating to COVID-19 vaccinations are available on the COVID-19 vaccine data page. This page is updated weekly at 1pm on Wednesday.