Health
The proportion of 2021/22 New Zealand Health Survey respondents who said they were in good health has slightly improved since last year (88.4 per cent, up from 88 per cent). This is higher than the OECD median of around 70 per cent.
Recent Treasury analysis has found that mental health is the factor most closely associated with life satisfaction. 11.2 per cent of adults reported experiencing high or very high levels of psychological distress in 2021/22, an increase from 9.6 per cent in 2020/21. Psychological distress is most prevalent among 15- to 24-year-olds, with rates of high or very high distress in this group increasing from 5.1 per cent in 2011/12 to 23.6 per cent in 2021/22. Budget 2022 continued the Government’s work to improve mental wellbeing services, including by expanding the Mana Ake mental health support for primary- and intermediate-school-aged children.
The proportion of Māori who report being in good health (81.3 per cent) is lower than that for Asian and European populations. This is reflected in lower life expectancy and higher-than-average deaths from cancer and cardiovascular disease among Māori. The Government’s response in Budget 2022 included a $168 million investment (across four years) in establishing Te Aka Whai Ora – the Māori Health Authority, which will fund health services that best suit Māori and the services they are asking for.
New Zealand's COVID-19 vaccination and booster uptake, and the automatic access to COVID-19 antivirals for all New Zealanders aged over 65 (and Māori and Pacific peoples aged over 50), continue to help mitigate the impacts of the pandemic on our wellbeing. New Zealand’s rate of COVID-19 deaths per capita remains very low relative to other OECD countries.