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A record 47 Maori women took their own lives last year.
Chief coroner Judge Deborah Marshall says the annual provisional statistics show 579 people died by suicide in the 2015/16 year, the highest number since the the provisional statistics were first recorded for the 2007/08 year.
That translates to a suicide rate of 12.32 per 100,000 population.
There were 129 Maori suicide deaths, with Maori male suicides down 10 on the previous year and females up nine.
The highest number of suicide deaths were in the 25 to 29-year-old age cohort with 66 deaths, followed by 20 to 24-year-old cohort wth 60 suicide deaths.
Hanging or strangulation was the most common method, followed by poisoning.
Judge Marshall says the rate of people dying by suicide has remained consistent and shows New Zealand still has a long way to go in turning around the unacceptably high total.
She says there needs to be more discussion about suicide prevention and how family, friends and colleagues can identify someone at risk and help them get professional support.
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