2021 Provisional Drowning Report

2021 Total Fatalities: 74

2016-2020 Average Fatalities: 78

In 2021 there were 74 recreational (intending to be in the water) and non-recreational (no intention of being in the water) preventable drowning fatalities. This provisional annual drowning report provides statistics and insights based on the 74 incidents. Note: In 2020, there were 74 preventable drowning fatalities.

This report is subject to change once all incidents have been verified by coronial findings.

 

Contents

 

 

Region

Regional Fact Sheets (pdf download)

Auckland	Gisborne	Manawatu-Wanganui	Otago	Taranaki	Wanganui
Bay of Plenty	Hawke's Bay	Marlborough	South Canterbury	Tasman	Wellington
Canterbury	Manawatu	Northland	Southland	Waikato	West Coast

 

Activity

 

 

 

Environment

 

 

 

Age

 

 

 

Ethnicity

 

 

 

Gender

 

 

Disclaimer

 

Drowning data is sourced from Water Safety New Zealand’s DrownBase™ and the figures provided are provisional.

Preventable fatalities include recreational and non-recreational drowning deaths. They do not include those fatalities classified as ‘other’ (arising as a result of road or air vehicle accidents, homicide, suicide or of unknown origin) as these are not considered applicable to the prevention and rescue efforts of the water safety sector.