NZ Index · Health

Insufficient

Is psychological distress falling, and are suicide rates falling?

High or very high psychological distress has more than tripled since 2011/12. The latest suspected-suicide rate is similar to last year and below 2018/19.

Verdict Insufficient is derived from the official series · Data as of 1 Aug 2026

The topic chip follows the displayed series. A scored sub-series does not override an Insufficient headline figure.

High or very high psychological distress

14.3 %

Ministry of Health (opens in a new tab) · Health and Independence Report 2025 · Data as of 1 Aug 2026

Other official series

Suspected suicide (age-standardised) (opens in a new tab)
Better
11 per 100,000
Like-for-like change -0.2 from 2023/24 to 2024/25 against threshold 0.0881; lower is better. Theil–Sen is longer-run context and does not override this headline.

Gaps — raw and official adjusted

All comparisons

ethnicity

High or very high psychological distress (K10 ≥ 12)

Māori adults (2024/25) compared with European/Other adults (2024/25). Period 2024/25.

Raw gap

8.3 percentage points higher

22.5 vs 14.2 percentage points

Official adjusted gap

Official age- and gender-adjusted ratio vs non-Māori: 1.6

An explained share is not published — CivicNZ does not invent one.

NZ Health Survey / HIR 2025 publishes an age- and gender-adjusted rate ratio of 1.6 for Māori vs non-Māori. A fully adjusted percentage-point gap (NZDep + obesity + smoking + diabetes + rurality + access) is not published.

Measured factors

Applied
Age structure (age-standardised rates)
Official age- and gender-adjusted ratio of 1.6 vs non-Māori.
Stratified
Neighbourhood deprivation (NZDep)
One-way NZDep: 21.4% in Q5 vs 10.0% in Q1. Ethnicity × NZDep is in the NZHS Data Explorer and is not yet imported here.
Not published
Obesity prevalence
No official distress gap adjusted for obesity.
Not published
Daily smoking prevalence
No official distress gap adjusted for smoking.
Not published
Diabetes prevalence
No official distress gap adjusted for diabetes.
Not published
Rurality (Geographic Classification for Health)
No official rural-adjusted distress table in this release.
Not published
GP enrolment
No official GP-enrolment-adjusted distress table.
Not published
GP visits
No official GP-visit-adjusted distress table.
Not published
Travel time to care
No official travel-time-adjusted distress table.

High/very high psychological distress by ethnicity, 2024/25

Group	Rate
Māori	22.5%
Pacific peoples	23.8%
European/Other	14.2%
Asian peoples	10.7%

NZ Health Survey. Age- and gender-adjusted ratio Māori vs non-Māori: 1.6.

Distress by NZDep, 2024/25

Quintile	Rate
Q1 (least deprived)	10.0%
Q5 (most deprived)	21.4%

One-way stratification. Not ethnicity × NZDep.

Official source (opens in a new tab) · Data as of 1 Aug 2026

ethnicity

Suspected self-inflicted deaths, males

Māori males (2024/25) compared with non-Māori males (2024/25). Period 2024/25.

Raw gap

13.9 per 100,000 higher

28.1 vs 14.2 per 100,000

Official adjusted gap

13.9 per 100,000 (both figures are official age-standardised rates)

An explained share is not published — CivicNZ does not invent one.

HIR 2025 reports age-standardised rates. A further official adjustment for NZDep, rurality, or access to care is not published. Confirmed coronial suicides lag suspected deaths.

Measured factors

Applied
Age structure (age-standardised rates)
Age-standardised rates.
Not published
Neighbourhood deprivation (NZDep)
No official NZDep-stratified suspected-suicide table in this extract.
Not published
Obesity prevalence
Not an official adjuster.
Not published
Daily smoking prevalence
Not an official adjuster.
Not published
Diabetes prevalence
Not an official adjuster.
Not published
Rurality (Geographic Classification for Health)
Rural male rates have been published in older MoH series; not in this 2024/25 extract.
Not published
GP enrolment
Not published.
Not published
GP visits
Not published.
Not published
Travel time to care
Not published.

Suspected self-inflicted deaths, 2024/25 (age-standardised per 100,000)

Group	Rate
Māori males	28.1
non-Māori males	14.2
All males	16.2
All females	5.8
Total	11.0

Provisional suspected deaths. Small numbers. Do not interpret a single year as a trend.

Official source (opens in a new tab) · Data as of 1 Aug 2026

deprivation

High or very high psychological distress (K10 ≥ 12)

NZDep Q5, most deprived (2024/25) compared with NZDep Q1, least deprived (2024/25). Period 2024/25.

Raw gap

11.4 percentage points higher

21.4 vs 10 percentage points

Official adjusted gap

Not published

An explained share is not published — CivicNZ does not invent one.

HIR 2025 publishes one-way NZDep rates. An official residual after ethnicity, age, gender, obesity, smoking, diabetes, rurality, or access is not in this extract. The NZ Health Survey Data Explorer publishes ethnicity × NZDep; CivicNZ has not imported that cross-tab.

Measured factors

Stratified
Age structure (age-standardised rates)
NZHS key results are commonly age-standardised in the Data Explorer. This HIR extract does not state whether the NZDep rates are age-standardised.
Applied
Neighbourhood deprivation (NZDep)
This is the deprivation comparison.
Not published
Obesity prevalence
No official distress gap adjusted for obesity.
Not published
Daily smoking prevalence
No official distress gap adjusted for smoking.
Not published
Diabetes prevalence
No official distress gap adjusted for diabetes.
Not published
Rurality (Geographic Classification for Health)
No official rural-adjusted distress table in this release.
Not published
GP enrolment
No official GP-enrolment-adjusted distress table.
Not published
GP visits
No official GP-visit-adjusted distress table.
Not published
Travel time to care
No official travel-time-adjusted distress table.

Distress by NZDep, 2024/25

Quintile	Rate
Q1 (least deprived)	10.0%
Q5 (most deprived)	21.4%

One-way. Ethnicity × NZDep is in the NZHS Data Explorer and is not yet imported.

Distress by ethnicity, 2024/25 (one-way, not ethnicity × NZDep)

Group	Rate
Māori	22.5%
Pacific peoples	23.8%
European/Other	14.2%
Asian peoples	10.7%

Shown because the official ethnicity × NZDep cross-tab is not imported. Do not treat this as an adjusted residual.

Official source (opens in a new tab) · Data as of 1 Aug 2026

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CivicNZ · Are we getting healthier?

Insufficient

Is psychological distress falling, and are suicide rates falling?

High or very high psychological distress has more than tripled since 2011/12. The latest suspected-suicide rate is similar to last year and below 2018/19.

civicnz.org/health · Official sources · Not a causal claim

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