2009 Drowning Report
12 January 2010
Media Release
For immediate release
2009 Drowning Report
There were a total of 98 drowning deaths in New Zealand in 2009. Water Safety New Zealand (WSNZ) has announced the annual drowning toll and released official statistics from DrownBase, the world’s leading integrated drowning database.
The 2009 toll is the second lowest toll since records began in 1980 and the same as in 2008.
There were 2.4 drowning deaths per capita (100,000) in 2009. Drowning is the third highest cause of accidental death in New Zealand, behind road vehicle crashes and falls. The drowning toll for New Zealand is still twice that of Australia, on a per capita basis.
Read the full press release with tables HERE (pdf) and The Provisional Report (pdf) HERE
ENDS