New Zealand’s population has risen by more than 100,000 people in the past year, Stats NZ revealed today.
The year ended March 2024 saw New Zealand’s population grow by 2.5%, or about 130,700 people, the agency said this morning.
That figure stems from an estimated natural increase (births minus deaths) of 19,500 and an estimated net migration (migrant arrivals minus migrant departures) of 111,100 people.
And New Zealand saw fewer births and deaths in the year ended March 2024 than the year before.
The agency said there were 56,277 live births registered in New Zealand in the year ended March 2024.
That’s down from 58,707 in the year ended March 2023, a decrease of about 2500.
And there were 37,623 deaths registered in the year ended March 2024, over 1000 less than the 38,835 deaths registered in the year ended March 2023.
“The total fertility rate was 1.52 births per woman, down from 1.65,” Stats NZ said. “The infant mortality rate was 3.8 deaths per 1000 live births, up from 3.5 per 1000, but down from 4.2 per 1000 in the year ended March 2022.”
The agency also released New Zealand’s provisional national population statistics for the same period.
“At 31 March 2024: New Zealand’s estimated resident population was provisionally 5,338,900.
“There were 2,680,900 females and 2,658,000 males.
“The median age of females and males was 38.9 and 37.1 respectively.”
Today’s release comes after Stats NZ’s population insights analyst Rebekah Hennessey said in February that 2023 had seen the “lowest number of births registered in 20 years”.
Hennessey explained the number of deaths “generally increases as the population both grows and becomes older”.
“The number of births, however, is driven by a more complex mix of social and demographic factors that change over time.”