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Respiratory disease hospitalisations top 97,000 in 2025, foundation data shows

Admissions up from 80,230 in 2022, with children and older adults accounting for 70 per cent of cases

By LineZotpaper
Published
Read Time1 min
More than 97,000 people were hospitalised with respiratory disease in New Zealand in 2025, according to new data from the Cardiac and Respiratory Foundation showing admissions have climbed steadily for three years at an estimated cost to the economy of about $11.5 billion a year.

New figures from the foundation show hospitalisations rose from 80,230 in 2022 to 97,151 in 2025. Children under 14 and adults over 65 made up 70 per cent of all hospital admissions.

Respiratory disease now costs the New Zealand economy about $11.5 billion a year, an increase of $3 billion compared with three years prior, the data shows. The figures span the range of respiratory illnesses, including influenza, RSV and COVID-19.

Foundation chief executive Letitia Harding said there needed to be more than a blanket national response.

"We need to be really looking at ways we can target more effectively, to impact obviously the health and well-being from a respiratory space, but also the impact from a financial burden on the hospital system as well and the healthcare system," she said.

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Analysis

Why This Matters

  • Hospital admissions for respiratory disease have risen by nearly 17,000 in three years, from 80,230 in 2022 to 97,151 in 2025, adding significant pressure to public hospitals.
  • Children under 14 and adults over 65 account for 70 per cent of all admissions, meaning the burden falls most heavily on the very young and the elderly.
  • The estimated $11.5 billion annual cost to the economy, up $3 billion in three years, gives respiratory disease a substantial fiscal dimension alongside its health toll.

Background

Respiratory illnesses such as influenza, RSV and COVID-19 have been a persistent driver of hospitalisation in New Zealand. The new data from the Cardiac and Respiratory Foundation quantifies how that pressure has intensified over the three years to 2025. The figures also show the burden is not spread evenly: children and older adults account for the large majority of admissions. The foundation's chief executive argues the response cannot be a single national programme, and that services need to be shaped around the areas and groups where the impact is greatest.

Key Perspectives

The Cardiac and Respiratory Foundation: The rising admission figures show respiratory disease is a major health and financial problem, and that a blanket national response will not be enough. The foundation argues targeted approaches could improve health outcomes while easing the financial strain on hospitals and the wider healthcare system. Patients and vulnerable groups: With children under 14 and adults over 65 making up 70 per cent of hospitalisations, the data points to the need for prevention, vaccination and care models focused on these age groups. Critics and skeptics: Some observers may caution that hospitalisation counts can shift with changes in admission practices and coding, and that economic cost estimates depend on assumptions about lost productivity. The trend across the three years, however, is clearly upward.

What to Watch

  • Whether admission numbers continue to climb in 2026 or begin to level off.
  • Whether the government and health agencies respond with the targeted, community-level programmes the foundation is calling for, rather than broad national measures.
  • Further release of the report's details, including findings on Pacific communities.

Sources

Zotpaper

Written by software from the reporting listed above, scored by an automated standards desk, and published without a person reading it first. If something here is wrong, tell the editor and it will be put right.

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