Share of children who were born outside of marriage in New Zealand
New Zealand: Share of children who were born outside of marriage was 48.7% in 2021. ▲ Rising
Latest (2021)
48.7%
Change on year
up 0.8%
World rank
16th
of 42 countries
All-time high
48.9%
in 2010
All-time low
4.6%
in 1960
Years of data
62
1960–2021
Share of children who were born outside of marriage in New Zealand, 1960–2021
Source: OECD (2025); OECD (2024) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
New Zealand recorded 48.7% for share of children who were born outside of marriage in 2021.
The figure is up 0.8% on the previous year and up 2.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children who were born outside of marriage in New Zealand peaked at 48.9% in 2010 and was at its lowest, 4.6%, in 1960.
That places New Zealand 16th out of 42 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 62 years of available data.
Share of children who were born outside of marriage in New Zealand, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 4.6% | — |
| 1961 | 5.1% | +10.9% |
| 1962 | 8.0% | +56.9% |
| 1963 | 8.8% | +10.0% |
| 1964 | 9.9% | +12.5% |
| 1965 | 10.9% | +10.1% |
| 1966 | 11.6% | +6.4% |
| 1967 | 12.7% | +9.5% |
| 1968 | 13.0% | +2.4% |
| 1969 | 13.0% | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 13.3% | +2.3% |
| 1971 | 13.9% | +4.5% |
| 1972 | 14.9% | +7.2% |
| 1973 | 15.2% | +2.0% |
| 1974 | 15.8% | +3.9% |
| 1975 | 16.6% | +5.1% |
| 1976 | 17.4% | +4.8% |
| 1977 | 18.9% | +8.6% |
| 1978 | 20.1% | +6.3% |
| 1979 | 20.9% | +4.0% |
| 1980 | 21.5% | +2.9% |
| 1981 | 22.5% | +4.7% |
| 1982 | 22.8% | +1.3% |
| 1983 | 23.7% | +3.9% |
| 1984 | 24.3% | +2.5% |
| 1985 | 24.9% | +2.5% |
| 1986 | 27.0% | +8.4% |
| 1987 | 28.6% | +5.9% |
| 1988 | 30.6% | +7.0% |
| 1989 | 33.1% | +8.2% |
| 1990 | 34.0% | +2.7% |
| 1991 | 35.7% | +5.0% |
| 1992 | 36.7% | +2.8% |
| 1993 | 38.0% | +3.5% |
| 1994 | 38.7% | +1.8% |
| 1995 | 40.7% | +5.2% |
| 1996 | 41.7% | +2.5% |
| 1997 | 41.8% | +0.2% |
| 1998 | 42.5% | +1.7% |
| 1999 | 42.8% | +0.7% |
| 2000 | 43.2% | +0.9% |
| 2001 | 43.7% | +1.1% |
| 2002 | 43.6% | -0.2% |
| 2003 | 44.0% | +1.0% |
| 2004 | 44.8% | +1.7% |
| 2005 | 45.2% | +0.9% |
| 2006 | 47.2% | +4.6% |
| 2007 | 47.2% | +0.1% |
| 2008 | 48.2% | +2.0% |
| 2009 | 48.6% | +0.9% |
| 2010 | 48.9% | +0.6% |
| 2011 | 47.6% | -2.6% |
| 2012 | 47.7% | +0.1% |
| 2013 | 47.3% | -0.7% |
| 2014 | 46.7% | -1.3% |
| 2015 | 46.7% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 45.9% | -1.7% |
| 2017 | 46.9% | +2.1% |
| 2018 | 48.2% | +2.8% |
| 2019 | 47.6% | -1.3% |
| 2020 | 48.3% | +1.5% |
| 2021 | 48.7% | +0.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 9.8% | 4.6% | 13.0% | 10 |
| 1970s | 16.7% | 13.3% | 20.9% | 10 |
| 1980s | 25.9% | 21.5% | 33.1% | 10 |
| 1990s | 39.3% | 34.0% | 42.8% | 10 |
| 2000s | 45.6% | 43.2% | 48.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 47.4% | 45.9% | 48.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 48.5% | 48.3% | 48.7% | 2 |
Countries ranked near New Zealand
More population data for New Zealand
- Population regions with projections, annual growth rate -0.0744 % change on previous year (2100)
- Urban and rural population 2050, annual growth rate -14.71 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population long run with projections, annual growth rate -0.0744 % change on previous year (2100)
- Un population 2024 vs 2022, annual growth rate -0.0739 % change on previous year (2100)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 05 - Demographic estimates 5,949 Persons (2050)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 03 - Annual population 0.628 Percent per annum (2030)
- Projected population under age 5, annual growth rate -0.191 % change on previous year (2100)
- World population growth -0.1% (2100)
- Population density 22.07 people per km² (2100)
- Number of children under 5, by world region 256,010 people (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of children who were born outside of marriage in New Zealand?
- Share of children who were born outside of marriage in New Zealand was 48.7% in 2021, according to OECD (2025); OECD (2024) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of children who were born outside of marriage recorded in New Zealand?
- The highest recorded value was 48.9% in 2010.
- What is the lowest share of children who were born outside of marriage recorded in New Zealand?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.6% in 1960.
- How does New Zealand rank for share of children who were born outside of marriage?
- New Zealand ranks 16th out of 42 countries with data for 2021.
- Is share of children who were born outside of marriage rising or falling in New Zealand?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this New Zealand data come from?
- The figures come from OECD (2025); OECD (2024) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of children who were born outside of marriage. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 62 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Share of all children born to mothers who were not married at the time of birth.