The demographics of New Zealand encompass the gender, ethnic, religious, geographic, and economic backgrounds of the 5.3 million people living in New Zealand. New Zealanders predominantly live in urban areas on the North Island. The five largest cities are Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Hamilton, and Tauranga. Few New Zealanders live on New Zealand's smaller islands. Waiheke Island (near Auckland) is by far the most populated smaller island with residents, while Great Barrier Island, the Chatham and Pitt Islands, and Stewart Island each have populations below 1,000. New Zealand is part of a realm and most people born in the realm's external territories of Tokelau, the Ross Dependency, the Cook Islands and Niue are entitled to New Zealand passports.
As of the 2018 census, the majority of New Zealand's population is of European descent (70 percent; often referred to as Pākehā), with the indigenous Māori being the largest minority (16.5 percent), followed by Asians (15.3 percent), and non-Māori Pacific Islanders known collectively as Pasifika (9.0 percent). This is reflected in immigration, with most new migrants coming from Britain and Ireland, although the numbers from Asia in particular are increasing. Auckland is the most ethnically diverse region in New Zealand with 53.5 percent identifying as Europeans, 28.2 percent as Asian, 11.5 percent as Māori, 15.5 percent as Pasifika, and 2.3 percent as Middle Eastern, Latin American or African (MELAA). New Zealand is considered by some to be unique among Western countries for its high levels of ethnic intermarriage, which has historically been viewed with tolerance. According to a 2006 study, Māori have on average roughly 43% European ancestry, although the notion of being "mixed-race" is uncommon.
English, Māori, and New Zealand Sign Language are the official languages, with English being predominant and understood by the vast majority of Māori speakers. Significant minorities speak Chinese, Samoan, Hindi, French, and Tagalog. New Zealand English is mostly non-rhotic, but has distinct rhotic dialects as well. Rhoticity is widespread among Pasifika and Māori and is becoming increasingly common across the upper North Island. The closest English dialect to non-rhotic New Zealand English is Australian English, but they have several key distinctions, such as the New Zealand centralisation of the short i. The Māori language has undergone a process of revitalisation and is spoken by 4 percent of the population. New Zealand has an adult literacy rate of 99 percent and over half of the population aged 15–29 hold a tertiary qualification. In the adult population 14.2 percent have a bachelor's degree or higher, 30.4 percent have some form of secondary qualification as their highest qualification and 22.4 percent have no formal qualification. As at the 2018 census, 37 percent of the population identify as Christians, with Hinduism and Buddhism being the largest minority religions; almost half of the population (48.5 percent) is irreligious.
Terminology While the demonym for a New Zealand citizen is New Zealander, the informal "Kiwi" is commonly used both internationally and by locals. The name derives from the kiwi, a native flightless bird, which is the national symbol of New Zealand. The Māori loanword "Pākehā" usually refers to New Zealanders of European descent, although some reject this appellation, and some Māori use it to refer to all non-Polynesian New Zealanders. Most people born in New Zealand or one of the realm's external territories (Tokelau, the Ross Dependency, the Cook Islands and Niue) before 2006 are New Zealand citizens. Further conditions apply for those born from 2006 onwards.
Population size and distribution The 2018 census enumerated a resident population of 4,699,755 – a 10.8 percent increase over the population recorded in the 2013 census. As of , the total population has risen to an (estimated by extrapolation). The population estimate shown is automatically calculated daily at 00:00 UTC and is based on data obtained from the population clock on the date shown in the citation. The population is increasing at a rate of 1.4–2.0 percent per year. In May 2020, Statistics New Zealand reported that New Zealand's population had climbed above 5 million people in March 2020; in September 2020, this was revised six months earlier to September 2019 when population estimates were rebased to the 2018 census. The median child birthing age was 30 and the total fertility rate is 2.1 births per woman in 2010. In Māori populations the median age is 26 and fertility rate 2.8. In 2010 the age-standardised mortality rate was 3.8 deaths per 1000 (down from 4.8 in 2000) and the infant mortality rate for the total population was 5.1 deaths per 1000 live births. The life expectancy of a New Zealand child born in 2021-23 was 83.7 years for females, and 80.3 years for males, which is among the highest in the world. Life expectancy at birth is forecast to increase from 80 years to 85 years in 2050 and infant mortality is expected to decline. In 2050 the median age is forecast to rise from 36 years to 43 years and the percentage of people 60 years of age and older rising from 18 percent to 29 percent. During early migration in 1858, New Zealand had 131 males for every 100 females, but following changes in migration patterns and the modern longevity advantage of women, females came to outnumber males in 1971. As of 2012 there are 0.99 males per female, with males dominating under 15 years and females dominating in the 65 years or older range."Sex Ratio". The World Factbook. CIA. Retrieved 13 April 2011.
Age structure
Age groupMaleFemaleTotal% Total 2 542 600 2 580 000 5 122 600 100 0–4 156 710 148 800 305 510 5.96 5–9 167 260 158 310 325 570 6.36 10–14 173 620 163 920 337 540 6.59 15–19 161 330 153 550 314 880 6.15 20–24 172 020 161 240 333 260 6.51 25–29 190 640 181 390 372 030 7.26 30–34 191 640 192 470 384 110 7.50 35–39 168 840 172 260 341 110 6.66 40–44 154 820 157 780 312 600 6.10 45–49 158 830 164 650 323 490 6.31 50–54 161 590 169 610 331 200 6.47 55–59 157 610 166 540 324 150 6.33 60–64 144 220 153 870 298 090 5.82 65-69 122 810 130 780 253 590 4.95 70-74 106 650 112 880 219 540 4.29 75-79 71 690 79 510 151 200 2.95 80-84 46 770 56 990 103 760 2.03 85-89 23 540 32 880 56 420 1.10 90+ 12 010 22 570 34 580 0.68Age groupMaleFemaleTotalPercent 0–14 497 590 471 030 968 620 18.91 15–64 1 661 540 1 673 360 3 334 900 65.10 65+ 383 470 435 610 819 080 15.99
The age structure of New Zealand is getting increasingly older. Due to undergoing the demographic transition from a 'pre-industrial' age structure to a 'post-industrial' age structure, the country has a sub-replacement fertility rate which is consequently leading to an older population and more evenly balanced population pyramid.
The average age of the citizen has gone from 25.8 years old in 1965 to 38 in 2020 and is projected to rise to 43.7 years old in 2050. The population of 90 year olds is also expected to rise dramatically, in the 1930s there were approximately 1,000 90+ year olds, in 2016 the number had risen to 29,000, in 2030 it is expected to exceed 50,000 and by the 2060s it is to rise above 180,000 people.
Population density
New Zealand's population density is relatively low, at The vast majority of the population live on the main North and South Islands, with New Zealand's major inhabited smaller islands being Waiheke Island (), the Chatham and Pitt Islands (), and Stewart Island (381). Over three-quarters of the population (%) live in the North Island, with one-third of the total population (%) living in the Auckland Region. Most Māori live in the North Island (86.0 percent), although less than a quarter (23.8 percent) live in Auckland.
New Zealand is a predominantly urban country, with percent of the population living in an urban area. About percent of the population live in the 20 main urban areas (population of 30,000 or more) and percent live in the four largest cities of Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington, and Hamilton.
Approximately 14 percent of the population live in four different categories of rural areas as defined by Statistics New Zealand. About 18 percent of the rural population live in areas that have a high urban influence (roughly 12.9 people per square kilometre), many working in the main urban area. Rural areas with moderate urban influence and a population density of about 6.5 people per square kilometre account for 26 percent of the rural population. Areas with low urban influence where the majority of the residents work in the rural area house approximately 42 percent of the rural population. Remote rural areas with a density of less than 1 person per square kilometre account for about 14 percent of the rural population.
Before local government reforms in the late 1980s, a borough council with more than 20,000 people could be proclaimed a city. The boundaries of councils tended to follow the edge of the built-up area, so there was little difference between the urban area and the local government area. In 1989, all councils were consolidated into regional councils (top tier) and territorial authorities (second tier) which cover a much wider area and population than the old city councils. Today a territorial authority must have a predominantly urban population of at least 50,000 before it can be officially recognised as a city.
Vital statistics Vital statistics since 1883 Data from 1921 to 2000 were taken from: Population data from 2001 onwards were taken from: Other data from 2001 onwards were taken from:
Notable events in New Zealand demography: 1945-1961 – Mid-20th-century baby boom