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“Aotearoa New Zealand is an island nation in the southern Pacific Ocean. It was originally settled by Polynesian people who refer to themselves as tangata whenua (people of the land) and are collectively known as Māori. In 1840, Māori leaders from iwi (tribal groups) and hapū (sub-tribal groups) signed a Treaty with the British Crown known as te Tiriti o Waitangi. This Treaty granted the British Crown the right to govern in Aotearoa New Zealand while also securing Māori rights to self-determination over their own lands, people and resources. Māori were also granted the same rights and privileges as British citizens.

“Māori leaders debated and signed the Māori version, te Tiriti o Waitangi, but an English version was used by successive governments to claim sovereignty due to differences between the texts that translated ‘governance’ as ‘sovereignty’ and ‘self-determination’ as ‘property rights’. Since 1975, the Government has been required to consider both versions as legitimate and this creates tensions when discussing Māori rights under te Tiriti/the Treaty.

“In 2022, Māori constitute 17% of the population in Aotearoa New Zealand and experience significant social and health inequities due to the historical and ongoing impacts of colonisation [2]. Since the mid-1980s, there has been increased momentum for public policy to reflect and comply first with the English version of the Treaty and more recently with the Māori version te Tiriti. People of Pacific Island origin (over 8% of the population) also experience significant health inequities.”

Source: Tim Tenbensel, Jacqueline Cumming, Esther Willing, The 2022 restructure of Aotearoa New Zealand’s health system: Will it succeed in advancing equity where others have failed?, Health Policy, Volume 134, 2023, 104828, ISSN 0168-8510, doi.org/10.1016/j.healthpol.2023.104828.

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World Health Systems Facts is a project of the Real Reporting Foundation. We provide reliable statistics and other data from authoritative sources regarding health systems and policies in the US and sixteen other OECD member nations.

Page last updated June 30, 2026 by Doug McVay, Editor.