For the Public

On this page:
● Fellowship Statistics
● Attending an NA Meeting as a Professional
● Resources and Contacts

Narcotics Anonymous is a global community-based organisation with a multilingual and multicultural membership. Membership is free and NA has no affiliation with any outside organisations.

The primary message of Narcotics Anonymous is that any addict can stop using drugs, lose the desire to use, and find a new way to live. Thanks to NA, we do recover. NA offers recovery from the effects of addiction through working a 12-step programme, including regular attendance at group meetings. The name “Narcotics Anonymous” is not meant to imply a focus on any particular drug, as NA makes no distinction between drugs (including alcohol).

Currently there are more than 200 meetings a week held nationally, including about 40 online meetings. NA publishes its meetings information here and also provides them in a printable PDF format. If you would like to receive a copy by email every two months please subscribe here.

More about NA in Aotearoa and around the world can be found here.

Fellowship Statistics

Since no attendance records are kept, it is difficult to estimate what percentage of those who come to Narcotics Anonymous ultimately achieve long-term abstinence. The only sure indicator of our success is the rapid growth in the number of Narcotics Anonymous groups over the last several years and the rapid spread of Narcotics Anonymous outside North America. This page on the NA World Services site has more information on NA internationally.

Surveys of NA members in Aotearoa were held over one week in each of 2004, 2008 and 2023. As well as surveying members, this provided data on the size of NA in Aotearoa.

Year	NA Meetings	Mean meeting size	Estimate of members attending in a single week	Estimate of NA population	Number of survey responses	Information pamphlet download
2004	85	13.4	615	689	475	2004 IP
2008	90	12.9	655	715	546	2008 IP
2023	182	13.6	1071	1477	622	2023 IP

Aotearoa Fellowship as Estimated using Survey Data

2008 Survey

Please feel free to download the Information Pamphlet summarising the results of the 2008 survey, alternatively more detailed information is available here.

2023 Survey

Please feel free to download the Information Pamphlet summarising the results of the 2023 survey.

NA Fellowship Growth and Development 1953 – 2023

Attending an NA Meeting as a Professional

NA has both open and closed meetings. Open meetings can be attended by anyone with an interest in NA, however speaking at meetings is limited to NA members or people who think they may have a drug problem. Closed meetings limit attendance to NA members or people who think that they may have a drug problem.

Professionals, students, probation officers, partners and friends of addicts are welcome to come to open NA meetings to see for themselves how NA works. If you are considering coming to NA meetings you can contact NA either through filling in the form on the Contact Page or by calling our phoneline number 0800 NA TODAY (0800 628 632). It can be helpful to meet with some members before the meeting so you understand what will happen. Please consider reading Your First NA Meeting and the suggestions below.

An NA meeting is typically an hour long sharing session. Members share with each other how they get clean, the benefits of staying clean and the challenges they face in their lives. The sharing can be very honest and many people who attend meetings are touched by the honesty and openness of the members. It is this sharing, in an atmosphere of recovery and participating in the lives of other members, that forms one of the cornerstones of NA recovery.

Suggestions for attending meetings:

Ensure you are attending an open meeting. Closed meetings are for addicts only.
Please arrive 5 – 10 mins before the meeting starts. If the meeting has started, return on another night.
PLEASE never repeat what you hear at an NA meeting – confidentiality is essential to NA recovery.
We suggest that visitors attend in pairs or singly, rather than larger groups, and introduce themselves to the meeting secretary before the start of the meeting.
If you do attend with others, try not to sit together instead spread out around the room.
When there is a round of introductions just say “my name is (your name) and I am a visitor” or or “I am (your name), a medical students hoping to learn about NA for my training”.
Reading cards are placed on seats and the people sitting in that seat are expected to read the card.
Do not share in the meeting, if you have any questions, then ask the meeting chair after the meeting. Others may also be happy to answer questions.
Please do not give money when the basket is passed, contributions are for members only.
Feel free to share your personal experience of attending the NA meeting with others at a later time.

Court / Probation attendance:

No requirements or referrals are needed to attend. Just choose a meeting and show up — we don’t keep records.
If you have a court or probation attendance card, feel free to speak with the person running the meeting after it ends. While NA members are not required to sign attendance cards, most are happy to do so. Please bring your own card or notebook and a pen, as NA does not provide them.

Thank you for willingness to learn about NA.