Cause of death statistics
Cause of death statistics have been published since 1872 for Europeans and 1920 for Māori.
About the cause of death statistics
These statistics measure the health status of the population. Cause-of-death statistics are used to:
- form health policy
- track the effectiveness of screening programmes, immunisations and other health programmes
- compare New Zealand’s cause of death statistics with other countries.
For whānau of the deceased
Accurate cause of death information is important for the deceased's whānau. This information appears on the death certificate issued by Births, Deaths and Marriages (BDM). This certificate is used to administer the deceased’s estate.
Genetic service agencies use death register information to help assess a person's risk of inheriting a genetic condition.
Medical Certificate of Cause of Death
The New Zealand Medical Certificate of Cause of Death is consistent with the certificate recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). This makes sure the questions asked on medical certificates are uniform around the world.
Health NZ receives medical certificates and coroners’ reports to classify the underlying cause of death. They use the rules and guidelines for mortality coding in both the:
- International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th Revision (WHO ICD-10)
- Australian Modification of ICD-10 (ICD-10-AM).
Postmortem reports
Postmortem reports are an important extra source of cause-of-death information. They are in approximately 12% of deaths and 34% of stillbirths.
Health NZ gets copies of these reports from hospitals and pathologists, and matches them with the related medical certificate or coroner’s report. The results are taken into consideration in assigning the underlying cause of death code.