Melanoma

This section provides statistics relating to melanoma cancer registrations and deaths in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Melanoma is a serious form of skin cancer, and New Zealand has some of the highest rates in the world [1].

Please note that mortality data releases have been delayed because data on external causes of death is not yet complete enough. For more information on the Mortality Data Collection, visit the Te Whatu Ora website.

Melanoma and environmental health

Melanoma is a serious form of skin cancer, and, together with Australia, New Zealand has the highest rates in the world [1]. In 2022, there were 3,116 registrations of melanoma in New Zealand. Melanoma was the third most commonly registered cancer in 2020 for males (behind prostate cancer and colorectal cancer) and for females (behind breast and colorectal cancer) [2]. 

Overexposure to UV radiation from the sun is the main environmental risk factor for melanoma. It has been estimated that more than 90% of all melanoma cases in New Zealand can be attributed to UV radiation exposure [3].

There were 3,116 melanoma registrations in 2022

In 2022, there were 3,116 melanoma registrations in New Zealand. The melanoma registration rate has consistently been higher for males than females over the past 20 years.

329 people died from melanoma in 2019

In 2019, 329 people died from melanoma in New Zealand. This is a 22% decline since 2015 (378 deaths). While higher than in 2017 and 2018, this is a 13% decrease since the previous peak in 2015 (378 deaths).

In 2019, melanoma accounted for approximately 65% of all skin cancer deaths in New Zealand, with non-melanoma skin cancers accounting for a further 175 deaths. 

For more information relating to this data, view the Surveillance reports at the top of the page.

Information about the data

Melanoma cancer registrations and deaths

Source: New Zealand Cancer Registry (latest data is for 2022), New Zealand Mortality Collection (latest data is for 2019).
Definition: Melanoma is defined as melanoma of the skin registrations (ICD-10 C43) in the New Zealand Cancer Registry. Rates are per 100,000 people, and have been age-standardised to the WHO world standard population.