General

• Drowning is the third leading cause of unintentional injury death in New Zealand.
• New Zealanders drown at twice the drowning rate of Australians (per capita basis).
• The most common cause of drowning is accidental immersion (falling into water unintentionally). 
• The average drowning toll for 2002-2006 was 120, compared to a 1990s average of 140 and 180 in the 1980s. 
• The national drowning toll hit an all-time low (since records began in 1980) in 2006 with 91 drowning deaths.
• The 2007 provisional drowning toll is 110
• The most at-risk age group in 2007 was 45-54 years with 21 (19%) deaths

Activity

• 2007 - Recreational related drownings accounted for 51 (46%) total, with non-recreational 34 (31%) and 25 (23%) other deaths from activities such as suicide or road vehicle
• 2007 - Saw a notable decrease in boating-related drowning deaths with 13 (11%), below the national average of 18, yet underwater activities (8) and water sport activities (21) increased, swimming accounting for 15 (14%)
• Two-thirds of all Maori and Pacific People drowning deaths are recreational based and often involve the gathering of kaimoana/seafood, yet only one quarter of all New Zealand Europeans who drown do so whilst partaking in a recreational activity

Alcohol

Nationally, for the period 2002 to 2006, 16% of male drownings involved alcohol and 15% of female.

The following statistics show the percentage of fatal drownings that involved alcohol across Auckland Region for the period 2003-2007 (source:WSNZ DrownBase) 

• Rodney District: 44% (4)
• Auckland City: 28% (12)
• Counties Manukau: 11% (4)
• North Shore City: 6% (1)
• Waitakere City: 5% (1)

 Gender

• 2007 - Males accounted for 76% of the drowning victims 
• Males accounted for the majority of drownings in the period from 1995-2002, with 880 (81%) of the deaths being male and 207 (19%) female

Environment

2007 saw a  few changes in environment for drowning deaths. For the first time since records began in 1980 there were no recorded drownings at calm water beaches; 34 (31%) were in rivers, the lowest since 2003; and only 3 (3%) were on rocky forshores, the lowest since 1998. Increases were seen in the number of drownings at surf beaches, 17(15%), the highest since 2003, and home pools where there were 9 (8%) drownings.

For the period 2002 to 2006 (recreational and non-recreational) Tidal waters accounted for 30% of drowning deaths; Immersion incidents 25%; Public pools 21%; Inland still waterways 20%; Rivers 19%; Beaches 14%; Domestic 11%; Offshore 10% and Home pools 6%.

Region

• After having the highest number of drownings from 1995-2002 (217) the Auckland region started showing a decline, from 35 (25% of national toll) in 2002 to 24 in 2005, then a 50% drop to only 12 in 2006.
• 2007 - The top three regions on a per capita basis are the West Coast, Taranaki, Northland and the Waikato  

Children 0-14

• Each year, on average, 20 children under 15 years of age drown
• Drowning is the second highest cause of unintentional death in the 0-5yr age group
• 2007 - 11 drowning deaths in the 0-4yr age group, the highest since 2002
• In the period 1996-2001 (inclusive) 77 preschool children drowned, 40 as a result of immersion accidents and 36 in home pools
• 2006 - 4 drowning deaths occured in the 0-4 age group, under half the annual 2001-2005 average of nine
• Toddlers and young children aged less than 5 years are most at risk of drowning, making up around 61% of child drownings, and 72% of hospitalisations for near drownings
• Each year on average, 79 children are hospitalised following submersion in water
• In 2006, 29 preschool children were hospitalized following an immersion incident, down from 52 in 2002
• About one quarter (25%) of all children who drown, are one year old
• Most babies aged less than one year that drown, do so in the bath. Baths remain a risk for children aged up until 5 years (12% of all drownings under 5 years)
• As toddlers become more mobile (age one - two years), home swimming and spa pools become more of a risk (40% of all drownings under 5 years)
• Three to four year olds are more likely to drown in creeks, streams, drains, ponds, lakes and rivers close to the home environment (32%) or the sea (10%)

Pacific Island

• Pacific Peoples accounted for 11 (10%) of the 2007 drowning deaths, the highest since 2004 - well above the annual average for the past 5 years (7) 
• Of children aged 5-14 years, Pacific Island children appear to be at increased risk
• Pacific Island children make up 7% of the child population aged 5-14 years, and yet they make up 15% of the drownings for this age group
• Pacific Island people made up 53 of the 1087 drownings between 1995 and 2002. 30% of these drownings were swimming related
• In the period 1995-2002, 85% of Pacific Island drownings were male

Maori

• Maori accounted for 29 (26%) of the 2007 toll, the highest since 2001 (30)
• Beaches, and Offshore sites contributed to the increase along with Swimming and Underwater Activities
• 45% of school age drownings are Maori
• Maori made up 240 of the 1087 (22%) drownings between 1995 and 2002
• Rivers and inland waterways accounted for 1/3 of Maori drownings in 2005 

Asian

• 2007 saw a significant drop in Asian drowning deaths with only 3 (3%), well below the annual average (past 5 years) of 7 (6%)
• For the period 1995-2002, Asians made up 7% of the drownings (79 of 1087)
• 26% of the drownings between 1995 and 2002 were fishing related
• The rocky foreshore and surf beaches were the highest sites of drowning, making up 33% of all Asian drownings.
• 26 of the 69 drownings over 1995-2002 were in Auckland.
• 47% of the drownings were from the upper North Island
• Over a quarter (26%) of all Asian drownings were fishing related

School

• In the last four years, 7 Primary and Intermediate school children have drowned during school activities

Source:

Statistics from Safekids coronial data.

Drowning statistics from DrownBase, the official drowning database of Water Safety New Zealand.