Statistics on Pasifika mental health and wellbeing

Population demographics

The 2023 census shows that there are 442,632 Pasifika people in New Zealand and the median age is 24.9 years. This represents 8.86% of the total NZ population at the time.¹

About one in twelve New Zealanders have Pasifika ethnicity or ethnicities and the population is younger and faster growing than other groupings.² 

Health

The Ministry of Health’s Health and independence reports bring together a range of information about the health of New Zealanders. In 2022, it found most New Zealand adults (87.8%) reported their health was good, very good or excellent. Pasifika adults are among the groups that were less likely to rate their health in this way, of whom 81.5% reported their health was good.³

Life expectancy for Pasifika people is five and a half years lower than for Europeans.⁴ ⁵  

Inequitable outcomes continue for maternal, infant and fetal deaths among Pasifika people and other groups. Pasifika women, women in areas of greater deprivation and other groups suffer a higher burden of maternal mortality than the New Zealand European population.⁴

Mental health statistics

The Ministry of Health’s health survey results for 2023/24⁶ show that: 

• 20% of Pasifika people experienced high or very high psychological distress within the month prior to survey participation. This was the highest among other ethnic groups shown in the result (Māori at 19.5%, Asian at 9.2%, and European/Other at 12.9%). 
• While the levels of psychological distress amongst Pasifika people had not significantly changed over time, more recent figures show an increase between 2019 and 2024 (See table below). The increase was greater for Pasifika women. 

Source: Ministry of Health. (2024). Annual update of key results 2023/24: New Zealand Health Survey. Ministry of Health NZ. https://minhealthnz.shinyapps.io/nz-health-survey-2023-24-annual-data-explorer/_w_ad3b57075df34475ac054ee9e9f231d9/#!/explore-indicators  

Wellbeing statistics

The Health Promotion Agency’s Te Kaveinga study published in 2018 showed Pasifika people living in New Zealand enjoy relatively high levels of wellbeing, with 82% reporting being satisfied with their lives, 88% feeling their family is doing well, 86% were able to cope with everyday stresses. The findings also show that Pasifika people report high levels of family wellbeing and are well connected socially and culturally.⁷  

Source: Te kaveinga: Mental health and wellbeing of Pacific peoples [infographic]. (2019). Health Promotion Agency. https://www.leva.co.nz/resources/te-kaveinga-mental-health-and-wellbeing-of-pacific-peoples/  

The Youth2000 study on the health and wellbeing of New Zealand secondary school students published some findings about Pasifika young people. In the 2019 wave of the survey, around 7374 students participated in the survey and 945 or 12.2% identified as having Pasifika ethnicity.⁸

Some findings were positive and some not so good. Many Pasifika young people have good mental health.⁹  Pasifika young people are generally happy with their family relationships, enjoy school and have aspirational goals.¹⁰ Not so good for their development is the economic deprivation that many live with. This presents as inadequate or overcrowded houses and families struggling to provide enough food.¹¹ 

Emotional wellbeing is somewhat worse for Pasifika girls than boys. In the 2019 wave, findings show 33% of female participants experience significant depressive symptoms as well as 15% of the male participants.¹² Rates of depression as well as suicide attempts are higher among Pasifika young people living in areas of high deprivation than those living in areas of low deprivation. And rates of both have increased since the last wave of the survey in 2012.¹³

The 2016 report also comments on what can be done: “Prioritising the wellbeing of Pacific youth will require purposeful and planned strategies that acknowledge our young people’s behaviour is influenced by their environment – family, school, churches, communities and wider political environments. Culturally relevant interventions, programmes and services for Pacific youth must address these broader contexts, as well building their individual skills. We want all Pacific young people to have the resources, support, skills and assets they need to thrive and be proud of who they are.¹⁴ 

Kantar Public’s report Youthline 2023 – The State of the Generation identified some of the top issues facing youth, and Pasifika youth¹⁵:  

- Mental health issues - 3 in 4 young people agree mental health is a problem for their generation.  

- Rising economic uncertainty and pressures - 1 in 10 think it is the biggest issue facing young people. Social media and the impact of recent weather events were also identified as key issues, as well as a range of other things for specific groupings. The top five issues for Pasifika youth (n=80) are: 

• Social media  
• Mental health issues  
• Vaping 
• Drugs 
• Body image / online bullying 

- Pasifika youth were also more likely to mention drugs, smoking, gangs, cultural expectations, family and family violence. 

Suicide rates

Pasifika people are highly concerned about mental health issues, as shown in discovery work undertaken by Le Va published in 2022¹⁶. Out of 895 survey and workshop participants, 73% thought suicide was an extremely concerning issue for Pasifika families and communities, and 84% thought mental health was either extremely or moderately concerning. 

The table below from the Ministry of Health’s Suicide web tool, shows trends in the number of suicide deaths for the Pasifika ethnic group between 2009 and 2023.¹⁷

Pasifika adolescents in New Zealand (NZ) are three to four times more likely than NZ European adolescents to report suicide attempts and have higher rates of suicidal plans.¹⁸ 

Deprivation is an important risk factor for suicide, and a correlation between deprivation and suicide is apparent. Housing is often inadequate, with many Pasifika families living in crowded, damp and substandard houses. There are some unique risk factors for suicide among Pasifika people too. These are rooted in socio-cultural, religious and identity experiences of Pasifika people in New Zealand.¹⁹ 

Research suggests that “priority areas for selective suicide prevention include: Pacific young males, Pacific ethnic foci, clear ethnic disparities and inequalities for Pacific suicide mortality when compared to New Zealand’s total population; safe, ethical and culturally appropriate messaging around suicide methods; the importance of the role of mental health and addictions in suicide prevention. On average, there are at least 22 Pacific suicides annually in New Zealand. Irrespective of small numbers, further Pacific ethnic breakdown is needed other than Samoan, Cook Islands and Tongan, as this is problematic for suicide prevention efforts for the exclusion of other Pacific groups.”²⁰

Risk factors and protective factors

A New Zealand Treasury analytical paper²¹ shows that Pasifika people wellbeing is strongly connected to their cultural identity. There are several values which influence Pasifika peoples’ wellbeing, including:  

• a strong emphasis on cultural identity and the role of families and communities  
• the central role of spirituality and religion in communal and family life  
• a focus on collective consensus, practices, needs and outcomes  
• clear expectations about respect, reciprocity and love and a sense of responsibility to self, others, environment and cultural protocols and practices.  

Risk and protective factors are reflected in the discovery project undertaken by Le Va mentioned above, which found several themes. The participants in this discovery project were from across New Zealand Pasifika communities, though the majority were Samoan and 83% were female. Participants were also quite young – 65% were between 24 and 44 years old. The themes are as follows²²:

• Mental health is the biggest area of concern for Pasifika people.  
• Family is key to wellbeing but also complex - sometimes a source of stress and trauma.  
• Income, housing and privilege have a major impact on Pasifika wellbeing.  
• Many Pasifika people feel like the health system doesn’t understand them and can be doing more to meet their needs.
• Pasifika people want diverse options and choice.  
• Stigma and discrimination affect Pasifika wellbeing.  

This project also found “young people to have significant health literacy around mental health and wellbeing issues. This high level of comfort talking about mental health and wellbeing issues appears to be a shift over time and perhaps also attributable to the multiple mental health promotion efforts to reduce stigma and increase conversation about mental health issues. However, this positive health literacy did not appear to be present with older age groups.”²³

It also found that 75% of the survey participants had effective ways of managing and supporting their mental health and wellbeing. Common self-care strategies included²⁴:  

• Having a strong support network (family, friends, church)  
• Physical activity (exercise)  
• Self reflection and meditation  
• Faith and spirituality  
• Having people to talk to that are trusted. 

Barriers to mental health support

The Mental Health Inquiry: Pacific report²⁵ notes the following barriers to accessing health services:

• cost and transport
• a lack of awareness of, or discomfort with primary care services
• cultural norms
• language and communication differences
• stigma and health beliefs
• a preference for traditional medicines and healers.

The Ministry of Health’s Pacific Health Strategy²⁶ also mentions barriers that Pasifika people have in accessing health services:  

• Inequities in the socioeconomic determinants of health, such as cost, transport, availability of services (appropriate locations, opening hours), ability to take time off work to attend health care services and availability of adequate childcare services.  
• There are also specific services that were highlighted as being particularly challenging to access, including maternity, mental healt, dental, allied health and other community-based providers (for example, optometrists and audiologists). 

The Youth’12 study looked at barriers to accessing health services and found that Pasifika young people have greater exposure to violence than other young people in New Zealand. And Pasifika students were almost twice as likely to report being unable to access health or dental care that they required within the last 12 months.²⁷

Cultural considerations

Cultural identity is an important factor impacting Pasifika peoples’ wellbeing. The Te Kaveinga report compares wellbeing in three groups of Pasifika ethnicities – Pasifika only, Pasifika and Māori and Pasifika and Other. The study showed that 93% of people of Pasifika only ethnicity felt strongly connected to their culture, and 12% had experience of mental illness in the last four weeks. The percentage of both other categories was significantly less, with the Pasifika -Other ethnicity showing that 56% felt strongly connected to their culture and 36% had an experience of a mental illness in the previous four weeks.²⁸